Shadow of the Tomb Raider
by gamePsycho11
Summary: Sequel to all my other Tomb Raider stories. Read all the ones before this one. Rated for language, violence and lemons
1. Chapter 1: A Faint Light

**LADIES & GENTLEMEN, BOYS & GIRLS, HERE'S THE MOMENT YOU'VE WAITED FOR!**

**Unlike my last stories, I'm not finished with this one yet.  
But Fang and I are working on it.  
**

**We're also working on another story at the same time.**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 1: A Faint Light & In the Shadows**

"Owen? Are you there?" Lara Taylor Croft's voice spoke out inside a dark space.

No answer. Just static, causing Lara to sigh.

"Damn..." she cursed, softly.

She turned on a light she had strapped to her belt. She was in between two rock walls, and her right leg was stuck under one.

She tried to pull herself free, but it didn't work.  
"Shit."

"**Baby, are you okay?**" Owen's voice called from her radio.

"Owen, I'm here," Lara said. "I'm, uh...I'm just a little stuck. A rock pinned my leg."

"**Don't move,**" Owen said. "**I'll get help.**"

"No, I'm right on Trinity's tail," Lara told him. "I don't want to attract attention."

"**I'm on my way,**" Owen said.

"I won't be long," Lara said back.

She then held up a knife and tried to use it to pry the rock off her leg, but she ended up cutting her leg, instead, and the rock didn't budge. She grunted in pain as she fell back a bit, then felt around for her pickaxe.

She got it, and latched it onto one of the rocks above her, and tried to pull herself out.

"Come on, you've got a husband and daughter waiting for you..." she told herself, wincing.

Soon, her leg began to move, and though she was in pain, she kept pulling.

Compared to giving birth, this was nothing.

Eventually, she pulled herself free.

She rested for a minute, then looked up,  
"Maybe through there..."

She then began to climb up through the crevice, panting with the exertion. As she climbed higher, she saw a faint light up above...the way out. Determined, Lara continued to climb up, slowly but surely. The ground shook for a moment, causing her to freeze momentarily, but when the tremor settled, she panted as she kept going until she finally managed to pull herself out.

She collapsed onto the rocky floor, catching her breath, then got out some tape to wrap up the wound on her leg.

Once she was finished, she managed to stand up, but also stopped a skeleton wearing a Trinity uniform.

Doing further research on Trinity, she and Owen had discovered that they'd existed long before Christ, and were ruled by an Illuminati-like High Council. They were determined to find and exploit all the ancient artifacts in the world. She and Owen had been hunting them since she found out they'd killed her father.  
'If they were willing to go that far just to have my father out of the way; I can't let them do the same to my family. Especially my daughter.'

"**Lara?**" Owen called. "**Lara, you still there?**"

"Owen, I'm out," Lara replied. "Be careful, the way in is full of traps."

"**Trinity's not done with it yet,**" Owen surmised.

"They're protecting something," Lara agreed as she started to climb up a rock wall with her pickaxes.

"**Six weeks and still no solid leads on who's leading the local Trinity cell,**" Owen mentioned.

"Has Jonah found out anything?" asked Lara.

"**He talked to some people in town,**" Owen began, "**And they're excited. There's a V.I.P. coming to the Day of the Dead. Name's Dominguez. We should look into it.**"

"Got it," Lara replied as she jumped onto an overhang and began to climb her way across, then up and over a ledge, where she saw a beam of sunlight shining through a hole in the cave wall.

"Babe, I made it," Lara said to her radio.

"**I'm on my way in,**" Owen replied. "**Almost there.**"

"I'm sorry I didn't wait," she said. "Be careful."

"**You, too,**" Owen said. "**Remember who's waiting back here for you.**"

Lara chuckled at that.

She ran around a big pile of rocks and found some ruins.

There was a big statue in the middle of a platform, which the light was shining down on.

She stared at it, marveling at the sight before she sighed.

"Beautiful," she said before she walked toward it...unaware that there was a charge stuck under one of the stones of the platform she was walking on as she took pictures with her camera.

She noticed that one of the pillars, there seemed to be a map...no...more like a constellation of some sort.

Owen ran in through the main entrance, "Lara!" He looked around at the chamber and whistled. "Get a load of this place! Guess all of our research paid off, now we know what Trinity's after."

"Yeah," Lara replied as she kept taking pictures. "They really didn't want us in here."

"I'm glad we followed your father's notes," Owen said.

"Mmmhm," she hummed back.

Owen noticed the tape around her leg, and it was partially bleeding,  
"I saw where the passage collapsed on you back there. Want me to take a look at that wound?"

"No, I'm fine," Lara said.

Owen put his hands on his hips, "Lara Angelina..."

Lara groaned at the use of her middle name. Whenever Owen did that, he was insisting on something and he was not going to take no for an answer.

So, she sat down so Owen could look at her leg.

"...I think this might need stitches," Owen said.

"Alright," Lara sighed.

Owen got out the sewing kit and unwrapped the tape from his wife's leg. He cringed a bit when he saw it,  
"Oh Jesus, it really got you. But this other cut was from something else..."

"That was my fault," Lara said. "I tried to use my knife to pry the rock off, but I paid for it."

Owen sighed, but he smiled nonetheless.

"At least you didn't cut it right off," he said before he began to clean and disinfect the wound, causing Lara to grunt from the stinging.

"I wonder how Amelia's doing," Lara said, mentioning their baby girl. "I hope she's not causing too much of a fuss without us."

"My parents and Lisa are looking after her," Owen said. "Hana and the pups are pretty good company, too."

"...I miss her," Lara said.

"I know," Owen said as he cupped her cheek. "I miss Amelia, too. We'll see her again, though."

"...Are you sure we're not neglecting her?" Lara asked.

Owen sighed, but he could understand her worry. She had never been a parent before, and she was just afraid of repeating the same mistake her father made.  
"Well, your father was obsessed with one particular finding. We do this because it's our career and we love it."

"That's true," Lara said, but then she grunted again as she felt Owen begin to suture her wound.  
"And I love Amelia so much, but...I want another one."

"Me too," Owen said, running the needle and thread through her wound.

Soon, he had finished suturing the wound, then bandaged it up.

"You're good to go," he said.

Lara tested her leg, much better. She gave her husband a kiss,  
"Thanks baby."

Owen smiled back, then looked at the structure,  
"So, what's all this?"

Lara got up and went over to it, walking around it,  
"Constellations. This inscription-it's some sort of riddle. Pink fish..."

"Pink fish?" Owen repeated in confusion.

"A silver-crowned mountain," said Lara as she kept taking pictures before she noticed that part of the monument was chipped off. "There's a date, here...but something's off. Looks like it was damaged. Perhaps intentionally."

Owen walked over, "Why would Trinity sabotage this? They usually just destroy everything."

Lara took a closer look, "No, I think the damage is older. But who would've tampered with it?" She stepped away from the structure, then Owen grabbed her arm, which made her freeze. "What's wrong?!"

"Don't, move," He breathed. "My danger sense is going off."

He stepped very cautiously over to the stones behind her, and checked below it, finding the charge.

And what's worse...it was about to go off!

"OH, SHIT!" Owen cursed. "RUN, LARA! IT'S GONNA BLOW!"

"What?!" Lara asked, but then, she heard a loud explosion, and the place began to shake!

Lara quickly took a picture of the damaged section, then she and Owen ran for the exit!

"Move! Move!" Owen shouted as they ran through a narrow tunnel.

"Hurry!" Lara cried as they reached the light of the outside and jumped for it. Thankfully, they made it.

They panted to catch their breaths as they laid on the ground.

"Thank God that wasn't as close as the other times," Owen said.

"Yeah," Lara agreed.

They both got up and hugged each other, relieved that they were still alive.

"You wanna freshen up?" Owen asked. "Regroup with the others at the café? Dr. Dominguez is supposed to be there tonight."

"Sounds good," Lara agreed as they started walking. "Then we can try and decipher the riddle-see if the date has anything to with it."

"Right," Owen said. "Pink fish, silver-crowned mountain...I'll ask Jonah to look into it. Oh, and this café is supposed to be really good! Jonah knows the chef."

"Mmm...I can't wait," Lara hummed, dreamily.

"I'll bet," Owen smirked. "Need to keep these full for the baby." He made the joke while squeezing her boobs.

"OWEN~!" Lara exclaimed, smacking his arm playfully as she laughed.

Even now, he still had times to make jokes like that...which is what she loved about him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Scene Change~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**COZUMEL**_  
_**MEXICO**_

The couple was now in the city at the café, La Cosa Mexicana.

All around the area were decorations for the Day of the Dead, and the people had on face paint.

Masks were set up, candles were lit, food was placed in front of memorial pictures...basically, they were going all out.

And there was music playing all around.

"This makes me think of Coco," Sam said.

"I know, right?!" Tommy agreed.

Owen had gotten out his phone to Facetime his parents so he and Lara could see Little Amelia before she went to bed.

"**Hi, guys,**" said Phoebe. "**How's Mexico?**"

"Great, Mom," Owen said. "Put Amelia on. We wanna say goodnight."

"**Here she is,**" said Phoebe as she picked her up. Amelia was wearing pink one-size PJs with cute lamb faces on them. "**Amy, here's your Mommy and Daddy!**"

Amelia cooed as she waved at the phone, causing Lara and Owen to laugh as they waved back.

"Night-night, honey," Lara said.

"Mommy and Daddy love you and miss you," Owen said.

Amelia yawned and her eyes got a little droopy.

"**I'm gonna go ahead and put her to bed,**" said Phoebe. "**Be careful out there, okay?**"

"We will," Owen said. "Nighty-night Amy~."

"We love you~!" Lara cooed.

Amelia cooed as she waved her little hands at her parents.

"**Bye, guys,**" said Phoebe as she turned off her phone.

"Is it me, or does she get more adorable every time I see her?" Sam asked.

"It's not just you," Lara replied.

"She's really starting to look like her mother," Jonah added.

"But I can also see her father in her, too," Tommy said.

Jonah looked over the balcony to look at someone sitting at a table,  
"There he is, Dominguez."

"Any news on him?" Lara whispered.

"He's leading a few Trinity digs here," Jonah answered.

"My father mentioned him in his journal, more than once," Lara said. "He's an expert on precolonial ruins."

"Everyone says he's a great guy," Sam said, recording the festival with her camera. "Big help to the town."

"Hey guys, look!" Owen exclaimed, holding one of the pictures Lara had taken. "The riddle, it's directions..."

Lara continued, pointing at the carvings in the photo,  
"To find the hidden city, go south along the shore until you find the pink fish-"

"Oh, I know something for that!" said Jonah. "It's pink dolphins! Found only in the Amazon."

"It goes on-"then chase the heart of the serpent to the silver-crowned mountain-"," Owen continued, pointing at another photo.

"Look at this," Lara got the photo of the constellation. "It's the constellation, Hydra the serpent. This star is the heart, it sets in the southwest."

"So, southwest from the Amazon river-Brazil?" Tommy asked.

Lara shook her head and smiled, "Peru."

"Peru?" Sam asked. "You sure about that?"

"Yes," Lara nodded as she held up another photo. "This date from the ruins...see? If you look closely enough, it is damaged. This number looks like a Maya thirteen, what if it's really an eight? With precession it-"

"Pre-what?" Tommy asked.

"Precession," Lara repeated. "The Earth tilts, so over time, the stars appear in a different place on the horizon- important if you're navigating by the night sky."

"Okay," Jonah added.

"In the Maya calendar, that's a two thousand year difference!" Owen continued. "Back then, the heart of the serpent set directly to the west."

He drew markings on the map of South America.

"So that's why it's in Peru, not Brazil," Jonah realized. "Trinity has been looking in the wrong place."

"Exactly," Lara said. "We need to look for the silver-crowned mountain in Peru. There's more...um...something about a-a key. What is Trinity looking for in the Hidden City?"

"Doctor! We found it!"

"Whoa, everyone, be quiet!" whispered Sam, just as a guy approached Dominguez.

"Yes?" he asked. "Show me?"

The guy nodded before he walked off, while Dominguez left some coins on the table and followed him.

"Let's see where he goes," Lara stood up to leave, but Owen grabbed her arm.

"Hold on, Trinity's all over this place, and they know three of our faces," he said, referring to himself, Lara and Sam.

Jonah got out three Day of the Dead masks, "He's right, try to blend in."

The group put on their masks and, for good measures, put on hats and hoods to cover up their heads.

They walked down the steps from the balcony, down to the courtyard.

"Where's Dominguez?" Lara asked, not seeing him anywhere.

"He can't be far," Owen said. "He must be in the courtyard somewhere."

"Yeah," Lara agreed.

"Let's take a look around," said Owen.

"Right," Lara replied. "Someone must know something."

The group walked around a bit, looking at all the kinds of food being made.

"Good thing I convinced you eat," Sam said.

"I was too excited," Lara defended herself.

They walked over to someone who was stirring what looked like potatoes in sauce,  
"Por favor, por favor, prueba!" (Spanish: Please, please, try some)

"Gracias, senor," Owen said, taking one, then split it in half, giving the other to Lara.

Lara smiled before she took a bite, then swallowed it.

"Delicioso!" she said. (Translation: Delicious!)

They moved along, still eating.

As they walked around the fountain, there was a boy with a lit firework in his hand, standing next to a post with a lot of pinwheels.

"Mira, mi padre," The boy exclaimed to them. (Look, for my father.)

Lara smiled at him, "Tal vez pueda encender una para mi madre." (Maybe I can light one for my mother.)

They walked even further, and Lara was smiling again as they passed a florist.

"See something you like, honey?" Owen asked.

Lara pointed at the flowers she was eying, "Dahlias, they were my mother's favorite."

Owen smiled as he kissed Lara's forehead.

"Maybe we'll get you some later," he said.

"Thanks," she said.

"Found him," Sam said in a hushed tone. "He's at the gate."

"We see him," said Owen, eyeing Dominguez talking to a couple of men holding assault rifles.

"Good," he said. "Be sure I'm not followed."

He soon went inside.

"I think Owen and I can find a way over the wall," Lara said.

She looked over to a fence, causing Jonah, Tommy, and Sam to smile.

"You guys go," said Jonah. "We'll handle these guys."

As they went over and talked to the guards, Lara and Owen went over to the fence and hopped over it.

Once they were on the other side, they immediately saw Dominguez talking with someone before they walked off together.

"Alright, we're in," Lara said to her radio.

"**Good,**" Tommy replied. "**Those guards weren't at that gate earlier. Dominguez must suspect something.**"

"Let's go, Lara," Owen whispered as they made their way through the memorials, passed the people praying to pictures of their relatives.

They walked through the courtyard as they got closer to Dominguez, who was talking to his companion.

"Did you make contact with the High Council, Commander?" Dominguez asked him.

"Yes sir," he said. "Even after the fiasco in Brazil, no one questions your leadership of the organization." That news surprised the couple.

"We've come too far to stop now," Dominguez said.

"Yes sir," The commander replied. "They're ready for anything."

Dominguez and the commander moved on, so Lara and Owen followed after them, at a safe distance.

"Remember," whispered Owen. "Don't make a sound."

"I know," Lara whispered.

After they passed through another small group,

"Guys, Dominguez is not just the leader of this Trinity cell, I think he's the leader of Trinity," Owen said to the radio.

Sam gasped on the other end.

"**Then be extra, extra careful,**" Jonah told them.

The couple continued to follow after Dominguez and the commander, passing by many tables with flowers, pictures and decorated skulls.

They managed to push through some people, excusing themselves as they did.

They stopped at a stand that was selling decorative skulls when Dominguez and the commander stopped not too far ahead of them.

"Someone set off a trap at the first site," The commander said. "We think it was Croft and Taylor."

"Wait..." Dominguez looked in their direction.

Owen turned Lara around so her back was facing Dominguez and kissed her. Though surprised, she kissed him back.

Dominguez made a slightly disgusted face, thinking it was just a couple showing public displays of affection,  
"I want confirmation, Commander. No more guessing." Then they moved on.

Owen then pulled away.

"...Well...that worked," Lara said, blinking in surprise.

"Sorry," he apologized.

"For what?" Lara asked, smirking.

They walked past the men that let Dominguez pass and headed for the back alley.

As they walked, they spotted him approaching a woman.

"Doctor!" she called. "So many of your men about..."

"You can never be too safe," Dominguez said as the woman gave him a fruit. "You're very gracious. Thank you."

"We should go," said the man leading Dominguez.

The couple went around the next corner, then ducked below a wall as Dominguez's companion stood near, talking into his radio.

"This is Commander Rourke," he said. "Dominguez wants confirmation Croft and Taylor are here. You have the photos. Croft is the female, Taylor is the male. Both Caucasian, both early twenties. You got that? Good."

"Well?" Dominguez asked.

"They'll find them," Rourke said, walking back over.

"Good, I don't want anyone getting in there," Dominguez said.

"Sounds like they're onto us," whispered Owen.

"Dammit..." Lara cursed. "Let's keep moving."

They went around more buildings, passing a drunk old man who told them to "get out of his office".

Up ahead, they saw a boy kick a ball, then trip and fall as Dominguez and Rourke came along.

"Lo siento," The boy apologized. (Sorry.)

Dominguez helped the boy up,  
"No te preocupes. Ve, juega." (Don't worry. Go, play.)

"Well, at least he has a soft spot for kids," Owen whispered.

"I have a feeling that's just a ruse," Lara whispered.

"The readings at the site are unlike anything we've ever seen," Rourke said as they kept walking.

"Hmm, it's the key to our next phase," Dominguez said.

"If this is it, we'll be ready," Rourke assured him.

Lara and Owen continued to walk through the alley, making sure not to trip on any trash bags before they crawled through a hole in a wall, where they found Dominguez walking through another gate.

"Guys," said Lara. "They've entered the dig site. It's fenced-off and there's a guard at the gate. I'll find another way in."

"**We've found a good spot,**" Jonah replied. "**We'll watch the perimeter.**"

The couple went right, and jumped over a wooden fence, over to a more jungle-like area.

Once on the other side, they ditched their masks, hoods and/or hats, now only in their jungle gear.

Lara was wearing a sleeveless, fitted blue and black, moisture-wicking tank top, khaki pants with reinforced knees, fingerless tactical gloves, and waterproof boots. She still wore her jade trinket necklace and earrings, but kept her wedding ring in one of her pockets so it wouldn't get damaged. She also had a quiver stocked with arrows strapped to her back.

Owen was wearing a khaki, linen, short sleeved, button-up shirt that was unbuttoned at his chest area. He also wore green, olive drab cargo pants with front pockets, black leather, fingerless biker gloves, and brown, waterproof working boots. He still wore his T-Rex tooth pendant, and also has his wedding ring in his pocket.

Both of them put down some bags they'd been carrying over their shoulders. Lara's had her bow, pickaxes, a rope with a grappling hook, and one of the Remington 1911 pistols Roth gave her.

Owen's had his Colt M1911A1 pistol, combat knife, a machete, some climbing axes, and the parts for a Beretta ARX-160 assault rifle. It was Coyote brown colored with an 11.89 inch barrel, a Truglo Tru-Brite holo sight, Magpul MBUS, and a Surefire E1D LED Defender flashlight that could be mounted to the bottom of the handguard.

"You ready for this?" Lara asked.

"Always," Owen smirked.

* * *

**There's the first chapter!**

**See if any of you can guess where I got the idea for Owen's outfit from! ;)**

**Read and review, please!**


	2. Chapter 2: In the Shadows

**Here's the second chapter!**

**I don't own anything from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 2: In the Shadows, Part 2**

Lara and Owen strapped on the rest of their gear, and walked over to a circular shaped stone slab, with the picture of a pyramid on it.

"A Maya pyramid...inside some sort of...cave," Lara surmised.

They heard some commotion to their right, and saw a vehicle.

As they approached it, they heard someone screaming.

"Take him into the ruins," said one of the guards. "Should be far enough out of earshot."

"No, no, please!" their captive cried.

"Don't make this harder than it needs to be," The guard said.

Lara and Owen snuck down to the vehicle, and through a big pipe that was right next to it.

The inside of it was damaged, allowing them to get into the next area, where the two guards and the hostage were.

"It's your own fault," said one of the guards.

"Come on, just do it," said the other...who had his back turned to Lara and Owen.

"You wanna take this one?" whispered Owen.

She nodded, snuck up behind the first guard and stabbed him in the head with her knife.

"Any final words?" The other guard asked the hostage, holding a gun at his head.

"Wait!" The hostage pleaded. "Wait, I'm a government official. I'm supposed to be here."

"Not anymore, Mr. Lead Archeologist," The guard replied, cocking back the hammer of his gun. "Your employment has been terminated."

Owen put a silencer on his pistol, aimed at the guard's head and fired, killing him instantly.

"Nice shot," Lara smiled.

"As always," Owen smirked as they came out of hiding and approached the hostage. "Hey, dude, you all right?"

"It's all right," said Lara. "We won't hurt you."

Owen helped the man to his feet,  
"Do you work for Trinity? What did they find?"

"Well, they've been searching for a temple entrance for many years," The man said. "Today, they found it. I have to go warn my sister, she's on her way here now." With that, he ran off.

"Guys, Trinity just tried to kill a local archeologist," Lara said to her radio.

"**Oh god,**" Sam whispered.

"We have to find what they're looking for," Lara added, then she and Owen moved on.

They pushed their way passed various ferns and plants with Owen using his machete to cut down anything in their way.

"**This is Commander Rourke,**" Rourke's voice said over the radio as they listened in on Trinity's communications. "**All teams, get ready for Operation Black Out.**"

"Operation Black Out?" Owen repeated. "What's that?"

"Who knows?" Lara replied, then they climbed up a wall that led to the next area.

As they climbed up, they noticed the full moon in the sky, plus a stone monument, which Lara took a closer look at.

"I know this figure," said Lara. "This is Ix Chel, Goddess of the Full Moon." She then circled around to the back of it and found another face. "Oh! And this is Chax Chel, the new moon."

"There's an inscription," Owen noticed. "Chak Chel… the Key lies beyond her gaze..."

They both looked down at the water, there was some kind of face carved into the rocks.

"Hello Skull Rock," Owen joked.

"You and your movie references," Lara quipped.

"You know you love them," Owen smirked. "Let's make our way down there."

Lara nodded before they began to head down, further into the ruins.

They climbed down a rock wall and used their grappling ropes to descend to the next cliff.

They ran over to the edge, jumped to the next wall and climbed along.

"**This is Commander Rourke, I want the site secured ASAP**," The radio went off. "**When Dr. Dominguez arrives, we all go in together.**"

They grappled down to the next cliff below them.

They had to be careful, though, since the sea was right below them.

"Ladies first," Owen said as he pointed to a rock spire.

"Thank you," Lara responded before she jumped over, using her axes to dig into the rock. She almost fell, but managed to get a hold of it.

"You all right?" asked Owen.

"I'm fine!" Lara answered.

She moved along the wall, then he jumped over as well.

"**All Units, get ready**," said Rourke. "**Dr. Dominguez is on his way down**."

"We better hurry, Owen," said Lara as she and Owen shimmied along the wall.

They grappled down to a lower part of the wall, then ran back and forth along it, then jumped to the next rock wall.

As they made their away around the cliffs, they found themselves staring at the Skull Rock.

"There's a cave right below us," Owen noticed. "That's what the skull's staring at."

"Then that's where we're going," Lara said as she and Owen grappled down and swung over to the cliff where the cave was.

"Made it," Owen said as they dropped down and landed.

"Guys, we're entering a cave," Lara said to her radio. "We may lose contact."

"**Copy that,**" Tommy responded. "**We'll keep an eye on Trinity out here.**"

The couple headed into the cave, squeezing through a narrow gap, finding the next chamber was mostly flooded.

"Well, get ready to get wet, Lara," said Owen.

"Right," Lara replied as they began to wade through the water.

"Ooh, that's cold...!" Owen whispered.

"I know," Lara replied as she climbed out the other side.

"But at least it's not freezing cold, like in Siberia," Owen said.

"Yeah," Lara agreed as she examined an ancient Maya monolith. "Dammit, the carvings on this monolith are too deteriorated to read."

Owen spotted another one, "Here's another, it still looks preserved enough."

Lara went to go take a closer look at it.  
"This mural depicts some kind of voyage or pilgrimage undertaken by the Maya," she said. "It seems they carried an item of great import and traveled South, to the source of the pink fish...the Amazon River, just like Jonah said."

The way to the next area was blocked by big piles of wood, with a long rope tied around the front of it.

Lara shot a rope arrow at it, then pulled it apart.

Once it was down, they kept going through the ruins.

Owen cut a trip wire at their feet, then spears popped out from the walls in front of them, so they ducked under them, then kept moving.

"Well, that was close!" Owen said. "That really felt like being in an Indiana Jones movie."

"But this was a trip wire, not a trigger-light," Lara commented.

They ducked under a low ceiling to the next area, and turned on the lights strapped to their fronts, just in time for a pack of rats to scurry past them.

Lara shivered a bit while Owen quipped, "Oh rats..."

"I hate rats, but I'm not terrified of them," Lara said as they kept moving.

"So, what kind of pests do you hate, and are scared of?" Owen asked.

***deep breath*** "Scorpions..." Lara replied, reluctantly.

"...Well, I guess I can't really blame you, there," said Owen.

"...I had a bad experience with scorpions, once," said Lara. "I...I got stung. I had to be rushed to the hospital...I almost didn't make it."

Owen's eyes went wide,  
"When was this?"

"A couple months after my father died," she said. "Thankfully, Roth and Winston were there to save me."

"You know, that part in Indiana Jones 4 when Mutt gets stung by the scorpion?" Owen began. "The advice Indy gave about them was partially true. It's not the overall size of a scorpion that makes their poison dangerous; it's the size of their claws."

"Oh," Lara said in realization. "So, big claws, weak venom. Small claws..."

"Deadly venom," Owen finished.

"...Thanks, Owen," Lara smiled.

"Sure thing," Owen smiled back.

"...It doesn't change the fact that they're still creepy as hell," said Lara.

"Oh, trust me, I know," Owen replied with a chuckle.

They came to the next chamber, which also had water in it, as well as some ruins they could climb up.

As usual, they made their way across the water, although it turned out to be a little deeper than they thought, so they had to swim.

Owen reached into one of his pockets, and pulled out two items they'd acquired in Siberia during their last adventure: rebreathers.  
"No telling how long we'll need to stay under."

"Good thinking," Lara kissed him briefly as she took one. "It never occurred to me to bring them."

"Always be prepared, Lara," said Owen. "Roth told you that, remember?"

"Yes," Lara nodded before she put the rebreather in her mouth.

Owen put his in, then they both dove underwater.

There was a way to move forward, so they swam through it, till they came to a narrow gap that could be squeezed through.

As they did, an eel passed by them!

Though startled at its appearance, Owen grabbed it by its long neck, pulled out his knife and stabbed it in the top of the head, killing it instantly.

Lara sighed in relief through her rebreather before she and Owen kept going.

They swam further, then saw some light up above, through a tight crevice.

As they began to make their way up, though, a rock fell, blocking their way!

They managed to move past it, and climbed the rest of the way up.

Good thing Owen had brought the rebreathers, otherwise they would be struggling to hold their breaths right now.

They got stuck for a bit when they reached a really tight spot, but managed to get free.

Finally, they made it to the surface, finding themselves in the next chamber.

"Well, good thing we had these, right?" Owen asked as he held up his rebreather. "That would've ended, BADLY."

"Yeah," Lara agreed, then they got up and headed in further.

"We have to find this temple that Dominguez is looking for," said Lara.

"You think we might find a clue in here?" Owen asked.

"Hopefully," Lara replied. "We can't let Dominguez have...whatever it is he's trying to look for."

They began to go down a dark tunnel, cutting a trip wire that made spears pop out of the walls ahead of them.

They ducked under them and kept moving.

They jumped over a pit, climbed up a rock wall, then found the next area; an underground temple!

"...Whoa...!" Owen whispered.

"Jonah?" asked Lara. "We made it. We're in an underground temple."

"**Good,**" Jonah answered.

The whole place shook, and the sound of a bell rang out all around them.

"Oh shit!" Owen cursed.

"**Guys, you'd better hurry,**" Tommy urged them. "**Trinity's blasting their way in.**"

"Yeah, it's what they do," Owen replied. "No respect."

"There's a pyramid," Lara said. "We're going to try and get to the top."

That's when they noticed some platforms with bells inside them, being suspended by ropes.

"I bet we could make that," said Owen.

Lara jumped on one, which made it descend, and the next ones ascend.  
"Huh, they react to weight."

"Lucky for you, your weight's only in your ass and your tits," Owen joked. "I've got muscle weight to deal with."

"Owen, really," Lara said. "This is serious."

"I know, but it wouldn't kill ya to take a joke, even now," Owen reminded her as he jumped over.

Lara sighed and shook her head, but smiled just a little.

"Saw that," Owen grinned.

"No, you didn't," Lara replied as she jumped onto another platform.

They got to a cliff, with human bones scattered around, and some kind of wooden structure built in.

"**Lara? Owen?**" asked Jonah. "**How's it going?**"

"Good," Lara answered. "There are platforms that can help us reach the top. Looking for something to weigh them down."

"**You're breaking up,**" said Tommy amongst static. "**Got some activity down here. We're gonna get closer.**"

They found some steps to go up, which led to a big cart, full of rocks.

"This should help weigh those suckers down," Owen surmised.

Lara used her rope arrows to pull apart a wooden gate, then she and Owen pushed the cart onto another platform, which caused another to rise up.

They went up another set of steps and jumped onto the next platforms.

Luckily, these ones weren't affected by their weight. That meant they could cross safely.

Right before they jumped to the next cliff, the cave shook again from Trinity's explosions, and one of the bells fell!

"Look out!" Owen yelled.

They managed to hold on, then jumped to the next cliff.

They found a parchment with a message on it.

It was a rearguard report,  
MAM

"A second party," Lara read, "A few days behind on the pilgrimage, reported strange things on the route. The beasts had become more ferocious and the jungle itself more dangerous. The trees and vines gnarled and twisted, growing thorns as long as a man's finger and sharp as blades."

"Hm," Owen hummed.

Lara pocketed the report and shot a tethering rope arrow to a post on the next cliff and connected it with a post next to her.

Soon, they climbed up to the cliff before they continued onward.

There was another monolith, so Owen looked at it.

"_MAM_

_Those worthy shall be sacrificed to the Red Goddess, she of the Waning Moon, and she of the Waxing Moon. Grandmother to all._

_Life Taker and Birth Giver._"

"Owen," Lara called, causing Owen to look to her and see that she had attached to a rope to a beam that was across a chasm. "Do you have that rope ascender?"

"Yeah," he reached into his pack and got it out.

Soon, Lara and Owen used the rope ascender to get to the other side.

They jumped onto another bell platform, which descended from their weight, making another one ascend.

They jumped to the next cliff, but the platforms didn't move.

"That bell platform is stuck," said Lara.

"So what now?" asked Owen.

"Look," she pointed at a circular section of wood in the ground, with what looked like a railway.

"Oh, it's one of those connection zones," Owen realized.

"So we use the pickaxe," said Lara, "And turn the wheel like this."

She started to crank the pulley, causing the floor to turn in a counterclockwise motion.

"Then, I push down this cart," Owen pushed down another cart full of rocks, it went down the steps and onto the railway.

Lara turned the crank again, making the floor turn so the railway was going in her direction again.

Then, Lara attached a rope to the cart and used the crank to pull the cart towards her, then once it got close, she cut the rope, causing the cart to crash into the platform, which caused another to rise up toward a ladder.

"That should do it," said Owen.

They ran down and jumped onto the platform, then jumped to a broken rope ladder that took them higher up.

Once they made it up, the climb up a wall and began to make their way across, although Lara nearly slipped due to a colony of bats. Luckily, she managed to hang on tight before she and Owen kept moving.

Once they were directly over the pyramid, they slowly grappled down.

* * *

**I know, ending it there is kinda bad...**

**But I wanted to put the disaster that happens next in one chapter.**

**Read and review, please!**


	3. Chapter 3: The Dagger & the Cleansing

**Sorry for the wait, everyone!**

**I own nothing from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 3: The Dagger & the Cleansing**

When they touched down, they noticed a mural on the wall.

"Guys?" Owen asked into his radio.

"**We're here, what's up?**" Tommy responded.

"There's a mural here," Lara explained. "It shows a box... The inscription says: The Silver Box of Ix Chel. That must be what's in the hidden city. This is a Maya myth. It says the box will summon the god, Kukulkan."

"**The God of Creation, is that what Trinity's after?**" Jonah asked.

"Wait there's more..." Owen said. "Looks like a series of cataclysms... A tsunami...a storm...an earthquake...and a volcanic eruption..."

"**So much for a God of Creation,**" Sam said morbidly.

"Well, in Maya belief; Kukulkan is the God of Creation and Destruction," Owen explained. "Unlike Lord Beerus who's just a God of Destruction."

"**And yet, still a delightful guy to be around,**" Tommy said. "**As long as you don't piss him off.**"

"Boys," Lara scolded.

"I know, I know, not the time to make jokes," said Owen.

"**I thought it was funny, Lara,**" Sam said. "**Come on, don't be so uptight.**"

Lara sighed, "You're right, sorry. I just want to stay focused."

She and Owen looked behind them, at the stone carvings on the pedestal.

"Hey, this looks like the Hydra constellation," Owen noticed. "But the stars are out of alignment... It's one of those three circled puzzles."

"...I wonder," Lara said as she turned one of the stone circles until the stars were in the right alignment, causing a pedestal to rise from the floor.

In the middle of it was a dagger. The blade was ancient, but still looked sharp. The hilt was a little shiny.

"Guys, we found a dagger," Owen said, then he and Lara took a closer look at an inscription below it. "There's an inscription, "The Key to Ix Chel's heart unlocks the Cleansing". That...probably isn't a good thing..."

"We can't let Trinity get their hands on this," Lara said.

"Wait, let's think this through-" Owen began.

"**Shit!**" Tommy interrupted. "**Trinity guards are coming your way!**"

Lara put her radio away, then pulled the dagger out.

The moment she did...the whole place began to shake.

"...Lara," said Owen, worriedly.

A part of the mural fell off the wall and crumbled at their feet.

Lara looked at the dagger, still in her hands, "What have I done?"

"We can worry about that later," Owen said, running to the exit. "Come on!"

Lara ran after him, pocketing the dagger.  
"Jonah! You, Sam, and Tommy get to higher ground!"

"**Oh, no, you took it, didn't you?!**" Jonah asked.

"Hurry!" Lara pleaded as she and Owen ran through the temple corridors, trying to find a way out.

They spotted a wall with some loose bricks that they could pick apart with their axes.

So they did, then climbed out of the hole, now finding themselves outside.

As soon as they did, though, they saw a spotlight.

"Oh, shit...!" Owen cursed. "Hide!"

Lara nodded as they ducked behind the rocks.

"Yeah, I heard you, okay?" asked the man that was manning the spotlight. "Dominguez is coming tonight. I get it. What I'm telling you is that the rain is gonna flood this-"

"In those bushes," Lara whispered as she pointed to some bushes. "Hurry...!"

She and Owen stood against the wall of plants, hiding among them.

"What the fuck do you think I'm doing?" The man came down an elevator right next to them. "I'm checking on the water pump right now."

He got off the elevator and walked over to the pump, which was right in front of the couple.

"Okay, let's make sure everything's copacetic here."

Owen snuck up behind him, grabbed him by his neck, and then, with one quick motion, **CRACK!** He snapped his neck.

Lara looted him for anything useful, then they moved on.

"**Hey,**" a voice said on the man's radio. "**How's it going with that pump?**"

"Uh-oh," Lara whispered.

"**Hey! Answer me! You finished with that pump yet?!**"

"Come on," Owen whispered, as they came over a muddy hill, finding a crane and more guys.

"Come and help me get these lights ready!" One guy said to another.

Lara and Owen sild down the hill to hide behind some rocks.

"**Operation Black Out has been initiated,**" Rourke announced over the radio. "**None of the local workers leave the site alive.**"

"Did you hear that?" Lara whispered.

"How could I not?" Owen asked as he and Lara hid in some tall ferns.

They kept hiding in more vegetation as they moved.

Lara stood against a wall with vines, and stabbed a guard with her pickaxes.

Owen grabbed an empty glass battle that was lying nearby, and threw it, to draw the attention of the other two guards.

"What was that?" one of them asked as they went to check it out...only for Lara and Owen to sneak up behind them and stab them with their pickaxes and knife.

They climbed up a wall, hearing people being executed from gunshots.

"Oh, shit," Owen cursed. "We gotta hurry...!"

Lara nodded before she and Owen followed the sounds.

"**Commander Rourke, this is Gamma Leader. Operation Black Out is complete. No witnesses, and the site is secure.**"

"Shit, we were too late...!" Lara cursed.

"At least we can make these bastards pay," Owen said.

"Right," Lara agreed. "Let's go."

Soon, they creeped off into the shadows, again.

They hid against a plant wall, where Lara killed a guard who walked past her, and Owen shot another who was standing on a wall with his silenced pistol.

Lara then shot the last two in the head with arrows.

They moved over to the next area, quickly taking out the guards with arrows, sneak attacks and silenced bullets.

"Nicely done," Lara said.

"As always," Owen smirked. "Come on, let's keep moving."

But then, a helicopter hovered over to their area.

"**Visual confirmed - it's Croft and Taylor! Engage!**"

Some soldiers slid down ropes to the ground. They were wearing camo-gear, and carrying FN SCAR-H CQC assault rifles.

"Fuck," Owen cursed. "Get down, Lara!"

"Way ahead of you!" Lara shouted as she took cover.

Once they were hidden, they both took out their assault rifles and shot some red barrels of fuel, making them explode.

The explosions killed a few soldiers, but there were still more.

One tried to sneak up on them, but Owen shot him in the head before he shot at another barrel of fuel, causing it to explode, too!

Lara shot one that tried running for cover.

"We need support!" cried one of the soldiers. "Taking heavy fire- AGH!" He was soon shot in the leg, then in the head by Owen.

"Bullseye," Owen smirked.

"Hopefully, that's all of them," Lara said. And it was.

They looted all the bodies, then kept moving.

Lara pried open a gate with her pickaxe, then she and Owen walked through an open door that led back to the regular streets.

"There they are!" Two soldiers ran toward them. Lara and Owen aimed their pistols at them, but someone kicked them both to their knees, also making Lara drop the Dagger.

"Stop! Don't hurt them." Dominguez, Rourke, and a few other men walked over to them.  
"Lara Croft, Owen Taylor."

He offered them his hand to help, but they got up on their own, holding their aching backs.

"This isn't the way I hoped we'd meet," said Dominguez. "You know, I've been interested in your work."

"Trinity always is," Lara said, glaring at him.

"I feel I must congratulate you two," Dominguez said, confusing them. "On your marriage, and having such a beautiful daughter."

Both Lara and Owen gasped.

"How do you know about Amelia?!" she questioned.

"We have spies everywhere," Rourke said, who was standing behind Dominguez. "You're lucky we were never told to kill you."

"Enough!" Dominguez silenced him. "I owed you, for stopping Ana and Konstantin. So, we kept our distance, let you have your happiness renewed, and start a family." One of the men handed the dagger to him. Dominguez examined it closely, with intrigue. "The Key of Chak Chel. I've sacrificed my life for this. Where's the Silver Box of Ix Chel? Give it to me."

"...It's in a safe place," Lara answered, not taking her eyes off Dominguez and giving off an air of defiance, which caused Dominguez to stare at her and Owen in confusion.

"...You don't have it?" he asked.

"Does it sound like we do?" Owen asked.

Dominguez whispered something to Rourke, who then ran off.

Dominguez had a look on his face like he'd made a mistake,  
"It never occurred to me that you would just take it. With this Key and the Silver Box we can remake the world-without weakness, cruelty-and certainly with none of this... But without the Box? The apocalypse. The death of the sun."

Owen never trusted the enemies he and Lara had made on their adventures, but the look on Dominguez's face...

Owen slapped his forehead, "Oh, fuck me sideways..."

Lara was also horrified...but she tried not to show it.  
"You're lying."

"Lara," Dominguez said. "You felt it...when you took the Key."

"Tremors are common," Lara countered, still trying her hardest to sound defiant.

"A tsunami is coming," Dominguez said, "And this is the first of many catastrophes! YOUR doing!"

"You would have done the same!" Lara bit back.

There was big rumble in the distance, followed by the sound of people screaming.

"God..." Dominguez muttered. "By taking the Key, you've set the apocalypse in motion. Do you realize the tragedy you have unleashed? That you've even put your own daughter in danger?"

Lara and Owen both looked at each other, the former finally looking terrified.

"...Amelia...!" she whispered.

"The Cleansing has begun," said Dominguez. "It falls upon me now to stop it before it consumes us all!" With that, he and his men ran to the helicopter and took off while Lara put her hand over her mouth.

"...What have I done...?!" she asked.

"Worry about that, later!" Owen shouted as he looked back...and saw a massive wave of water headed right for them! "RUN, LARA!"

Lara gasped in horror before she and Owen turned and ran for their lives, as fast as they could!

But the water came in faster and swept them away!

Soon, the entire streets were flooded with water, and people were screaming as they were either swept away...or buried in rubble. Fires broke out and the power was knocked out, too.

Lara and Owen quickly swam to the surface, and tried to grab a hold of something.

They grabbed onto a support beam, but it was too slippery and they ended up being carried off by the current, trying to avoid any obstacles in their way.

They eventually came to a tree that had fallen over, and grabbed onto it.

But the current was too strong, so it swept them under it.

They grabbed onto an open window, next, but they were losing their grip on the shudders, too. People screamed as they were swept away by the current, some of them going under as they passed by.

A car swept by, and part of a building fell apart across from them.

Some of the bricks fell on them and took them under.

Thankfully, they had their rebreathers.

They swam around what looked like a market-place, bodies floating all around them.

Lara wanted to throw up at the sight, but she kept swimming.

Eventually, they found an exit door, which Owen pried open with his pick-axe.

Once they did, the first thing they ran into were several more dead bodies, and it took everything Lara had not to scream.

They swam up to an ice-cream truck, which had a broken windshield that they could go through.

Owen tried to open it's back door, but it was stuck.

So Lara had to use her pickaxe to break the glass window before they swam out and up to the surface, where they immediately grabbed onto a palm tree!

"We've got to find higher ground!" cried Lara.

Some broken wood hit their backs, making them lose their grips again.

What's worse, Lara went one way and Owen went another!

"Owen!" Lara cried as she tried to reach out for him.

She eventually came to a structure she could climb up.

Once she reached the top, she desperately looked around for Owen, but saw no sign of him.

"OWEN!" she called out, but before she could look more, a boat suddenly came crashing towards her, forcing her to jump off and onto a piece of rubble before she kept running!

She jumped to a rock, then a billboard, then a crane, then swung from a street lamp to the next building.

Then she hurriedly climbed her way up a building as the walls crumbled, and at one point, she almost did fall.

"Shit!" she cursed. "No, no, no...!"

As she rounded a corner, she heard someone screaming.

"No puedo aguantar!" (I can't hold on)

Lara looked up and gasped upon seeing a boy of at least 9 years old, trying to hold onto a broken beam.

"Don't move!" she called. "Try to hold on!"

"No quiero caer, por favor, no quiero caer!" the boy cried. (I don't want to fall, please, I don't want to fall)

"Hold on!" Lara called to him. "Don't let go!"

"Mamá! Mamá, ¿dónde estás!?" The boy called for his mother. (Mama, where are you)

The beam completely gave way, and the boy fell!

"NOOOO!" Lara cried in horror, reaching out in vain as the boy fell into the water.

Tears began to fall from her eyes. All the dead people she'd seen really hit hard, but that boy broke the dam. It hurt even worse as the boy had been screaming for his mother, and she was a mother herself.

'This is all my fault...I did this...!' she thought.

She climbed the rest of the way to the top of the building, and collapsed once she was on the roof, gasping and panting.

Then she heard the sound of someone coughing up water, gasping for breath. Turning, she saw Owen kneeling over Sam, who had been the one coughing. It was clear that Owen had just performed CPR on her.

Behind them, Jonah and Tommy were helping people get put on stretchers for a helicopter that was right by them. Many other people were around, tending to the injured, trying to revive anyone, or mourning losses.

"Owen!" Lara cried as she stood up. "Guys!"

Owen turned around and gasped upon seeing his wife.

"Lara!" he cried as he ran over to her and hugged her.

"Oh, Owen..." Lara whispered as tears formed in her eyes, again.  
"All these people...that boy who fell...his mother...this is all my fault..."

"Lara!" Jonah and Tommy ran over. "We were so worried!"

Tommy helped Sam to her feet, who then hugged the couple tightly.

"You two made it!" she cried.

"Yeah, but we failed," Owen lamented. "Even worse..."

"What do you mean?" Tommy asked.

"Dominguez, he took the dagger," Lara sobbed, pulling out of Owen's embrace. "After everything that my father went through, I gave Trinity exactly what they wanted! He'll use the Box and the knife to remake the world!"

"To remake it into what?" Jonah questioned.

"He thinks he can rid it of sin, and weakness..." Owen answered. "Who decides what qualifies as weakness?"

"What's worse, I caused this tsunami!" Lara cried, in a sad/angry tone. She hadn't been this mad at herself since she drove Owen away.  
"By taking the Dagger, I unleashed the apocalypse! The mural on the wall; all of those catastrophes are gonna happen! This was the first! This is all my fault! I may have even put Amelia's life in danger, my own daughter! She's still just a newborn, and I might lose her!"

Owen went over to her and pulled her into his arms, trying to comfort her.

She weakly hit his chest, "Why didn't you stop me from taking it?"

"...I'm sorry, Lara," he whispered. "I really am."

Lara sobbed in his arms as Owen hugged her tightly.

"We'll figure this whole thing out," Jonah said. "I promise."

"Well first, we need to help these people," Tommy said.

"...I don't deserve to help," Lara said. "I started all of this."

"Lara, don't say that," Sam said. "Please...you gotta help."

"No, I have to get to Peru," Lara argued, pulling out of Owen's arms. "No one is safe! Not if Trinity gets the Box! I have to go, I'm the only one-"

"YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN WHAT?!" Jonah shouted. "Not everything is about you, Lara!"

"Jonah, back off!" Owen warned him. "You know how she's feeling right now!"

"Well, we're gonna need more than a riddle about pink fish and a silver crowned mountain to get to the hidden city," Tommy sighed.

Jonah took a deep breath, "I'm gonna help these people, and then I'll find us a plane."

Sam looked at Lara, who panted heavily as she ran her hands through her hair.

She went over and hugged her, making her look away from the flooded city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Scene Change_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_**AMAZON RIVER  
PERU**_

A few days later, the group had arrived at the Amazon River in Peru by plane.

Everyone just looked out the windows, staying silent.

Even Tsume, just doing his usual panting, stayed relatively silent.

Lara reached up and gently scratched under his chin, causing him to whine pleasantly.

"We're almost there," Lara said. "Just a little bit farther, now."

No one said anything in response.

So, Lara continued, "I think we're looking for a volcanic mountain. The "crown of silver" is probably a band of clouds."

"I just can't get those people back there out of my head," Jonah finally said.

"Me either," Sam added. "They lost everything."

"At least you know Amelia's safe," Tommy said, trying to lighten the mood.

"For now," Lara sighed.

Owen took her hand and rubbed it.

Lara looked at him and smiled a little...but it soon fell as she looked away.

"The riddle says, "Chase the heart of the serpent to the silver-crowned mountain, where the Twins confer"," Owen said. "I wonder what the Twins are."

"This storm looks like bad news," Jonah said, looking out the window.

"It's just a little rain," Lara assured him. "We'll concentrate on the cloudy mountain."

"A cloudy mountain, huh?" Sam said. "If we find it, how do we know we have the right one?"

"...Gut feeling?" Owen asked. "It's our only clue."

"The mural says there will be more disasters," Lara said. "The best way we can help them is to put a stop to it and Trinity."

"Okay," said Jonah, "But how do we really know?"

"Jonah," Lara started. "What I felt when I took the dagger-"

"You mean the tremors of the tsunami?" Tommy asked.

"More than that," Lara said. "It felt like I woke something up... I know that it's not practical, and I know it's hard to believe, but I need you to trust me."

"After what that bitch Himiko did to me, I'll believe anything involving the supernatural," Sam said.

"We have to trust each other...all of us," Jonah said.

Tsume barked in agreement, causing everyone to laugh.

"Thanks, buddy," Owen said as he scratched his neck.

Tommy looked out the window, "Hey, I might have something here."

Soon, everyone looked out the window with him and looked down to the river below.

"That's it!" Lara exclaimed.

Then the plane shook a little.

"I don't like this storm," Sam said. "Should we come back in the morning?"

Lara shook her head, "We're so close."

"A little turbulence wouldn't stop Trinity either," Owen said.

"Miguel, is there anywhere to land?" Lara asked the pilot, Miguel, who was trying to keep the plane under control.

Miguel looked in the distance, "Yeah, I can put you down near Kuwaq Yaku."

"Alright," Lara responded, then returned to her seat.

The plane started rattling more, then shook violently.

"WHOA!" Owen cried as he almost fell out of the seat.

"It's too strong!" Tommy yelled.

"Hold on!" Miguel called as some hail hit the windshield. One the size of a baseball broke through it, hitting Miguel in the face, knocking him unconscious!

Lara got up and went over to the cockpit.

"What are you doing?" Owen asked.

"I'm gonna level it!" she answered, grabbing the steering wheel. Owen came up beside her.

The strong wind was really blowing in from the broken windshield.

"There are no parachutes!" Jonah yelled.

"I know!" Lara said.  
The plane started coming apart!  
"Get ready to jump!"

"No fucking way!" Jonah yelled.

"We have to!" Owen agreed.

"Are you outta your fucking mind?!" Tommy exclaimed.

"We have no choice!" Lara yelled.

"I am not jumping out of this plane!" Jonah yelled.

Tsume ran behind the cargo, just as the plane came apart! The cockpit, where Lara, Owen and the unconscious Miguel were, broke off from the rest, where Tsume, Sam, Tommy and Jonah were!

"NO!" Owen reached out in vain, before sitting in the co-pilot seat, pulling Lara to sit in his lap! He quickly stretched out the seat belt to secure them both, just as they saw they were approaching the trees at high speeds!

Both of them shielded themselves with their arms before they crashed!

Then...everything went black.

* * *

**That seemed like a good place to end it. Sorry if it seemed like a cliff-hanger, I hate those.**

**Read and review, please!**


	4. Chapter 4: Peruvian Jungle

**Sorry again for the wait.**

**So much stuff going on; writing this and KHIII, looking for a way to earn money with , and Avengers: Endgame.**

**I'm so relieved that the tragedy of Infinity War has been fixed, and Endgame was the most epic superhero movie ever!**

**Now then...**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 4: Peruvian Jungle**

When Owen and Lara woke up, they were looking straight at the ground.

Lara seethed in pain as she held her side, then she looked to her left and saw that Miguel was gone.

They looked around, seeing some monkeys climb away.

Owen unfastened the seatbelt, causing them both to fall to the ground, landing in mud.

"Ugh, mudwrestling...definitely a spectator sport," Owen joked.

"Owen," Lara said in a warning tone.

"I know, I know, no time for jokes," said Owen.

"Miguel?" Lara called as they walked forward.

"You know I make jokes at times like this to diffuse the tension," Owen reminded her. "You know you appreciate it most of the time."

Lara sighed, "You're right, I'm sorry. I'm just worried about the others."

"I am too," Owen said.

They moved past the plants, then climbed up a cliff that overlooked the jungle. They could see the mountain in the distance. Then, a flare was shot into the sky from the distance to the right.

"Someone's over there," Lara exclaimed. "Let's go!"

"Right," Owen replied.

Soon, they began to make their way across a narrow cliff, which crumbled a bit from their weight and scared off some parrots, but they managed to stay on the stable ground. Lara jumped up onto a branch that had a nest with bird eggs inside, but all she grabbed was a few feathers.

"Be careful, Owen," she said. "We both know mama birds can get angry when their nests are disturbed."

"I know," he replied.

They then jumped to the next cliff and climbed up, spotting some more monkeys on the big tree up ahead.

Lara gasped in astonishment when she realized what they were,  
"Howlers!"

"Red Howlers, to be exact," Owen clarified. "They make their famous howls with a specially modified hyoid bone in their throats. The sound is so loud that it can carry for 20 miles. Ranked on Jack Hanna's Wildlife Countdown of one of the six loudest animals."

The Red Howlers began to make their whooping calls.

"...Beautiful...!" Lara whispered.

They balanced along the tree, then jumped to swing from a branch over to the next cliff, where they slid down a hill.

Up ahead, they saw a campsite!

"A fire!" Lara exclaimed as they approached. "Someone must be around!"

"Hello~?" Owen called, but all they found were a couple of monkeys, which quickly fled.

Tsume, Sam and the others were nowhere to be seen.

Lara checked an area to the right, finding a chest with an old handkerchief in it. Then she went back to the camp where Owen was waiting.

"What'd you find?" he asked.

"This," she handed him the handkerchief. "The monogram reads: PHF. That has to stand for Percival Harrison Fawcett."  
She placed it in her pocket.

Up ahead was part of the plane, and some of the cargo crates.

"Some of our gear is in that cargo," Lara said. "We need some way to cut it down."

"Well luckily, I kept these on me," Owen pulled out his combat knife and machete.

"Good, but I'm gonna need something too," Lara said. "Maybe a piece of scrap from the wreck."

She went over to where one of the wings and engines was, and struggled to pull a piece from part of the propeller, but she slipped. The wing and engine began to fall into a small lake, but Owen grabbed a hold of it and pulled the piece of the propeller off as it fell, using the momentum and force to his advantage.

"There you go," he said, handing the piece of scrap to her.

"Thanks babe," Lara responded. She then tried to cut one of the ropes that held up the cargo, but...  
"This is good, but dull. I need a way to sharpen it."

Soon, Lara and Owen went back to the camp so that the former could sharpen the knife with a stone.

Once it was sharp enough, they cut the ropes holding up the cargo in the tree.

Two crates stood out; one was longer and the other was thicker and long. They were both black and grey, while the other crates were yellow.

They went over to the black crates, knowing they were theirs.

The longer crate had Lara's bow and quiver with arrows, plus a radio. The other crate had Owen's Colt M1911 pistol, Beretta ARX assault rifle, and a radio.

"We're back in business," Owen smirked.

"Why didn't I pack all of my equipment together?" Lara criticized herself as she strapped her quiver over her shoulder.

"I told you to, didn't I tell you?" Owen said, in a chastising, teasing voice as he holstered his pistol and put his rifle together.  
"But did you listen~?"

Lara laughed and playfully shoved him. She had to admit...it did cheer her up just a little.

They both grabbed their radios, and Miguel's voice spoke out,  
"**Mrs. Croft? Anyone? Hello?**"

"Miguel, where are you?" Lara asked.

"This is Owen, you okay?" Owen also asked.

All they got back was static.

"Miguel? Hello?" Owen asked, but got no answer. "Dammit."

"We'll have to keep going," Lara said as they headed deeper into the jungle. "He must be somewhere around here."

They found a tree stump with ropes tied around it, next to a cliff.

Across the ravine was another tree stumped with ropes at the next cliff.

"You know what to do," said Owen, while Lara nodded and shot a rope arrow into the stump, then she and Owen used the rope ascender to make their way to the other side.

They went up a small hill, seeing a red light around the corner. It was a flare.

"I'm getting a bad feeling here," Owen muttered.

"You and me both," Lara said. "Miguel, where are you?"

Near the flare was a discarded shoe, and...a trail of blood.

"...Oh, no..." Lara whispered. "Miguel? Miguel?!"

"Lara! Over here, look at this!" Owen said as he looked at a nearby rock that was smeared with blood. "Look at these blood spatters."

Lara took a closer look...and she could make out paw prints and claw marks.

"What kind of predators would we run into around here?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"Cougars, Spectacled Bears, and Jaguars," Owen responded.

"...Oh, god," Lara whispered. "Let's keep moving."

As they walked through the forest, Lara gagged as she smelled the scent of rotting flesh...and she looked down and saw a pool of fresh blood on the ground.

"Ugh...that's not pretty," said Owen.

As they walked further...something dropped out of the trees in front of them: Miguel's half-eaten corpse, his lower jaw ripped off, his legs missing, and a huge cavity in his chest...torn open by sharp claws and fangs.

"Miguel...!" Lara whispered in horror.

"...Lara," Owen muttered quietly as he looked up at the trees. "Don't, move."

Doing as her husband told, all Lara did was raise her eyes to look up in the trees, her eyes widened in fear and she nearly screamed when she saw a jaguar.

It's muzzle and teeth covered in blood.

Lara began breathing heavily, and backed up bit, into Owen.

"Show, no, fear," he muttered. "Breath, deep."

The jaguar continued staring at them, and growled.

Lara closed her eyes and calmed her breathing.

The jaguar snarled, blood dripping from its lips...but Lara only glared right back, and so did Owen as if to say "We're not afraid of you". A troop of monkeys began to gather around on the branches, but came no closer due to the big cat.

However...they didn't seem to realize that another shadow was creeping towards them from behind. As the jaguar drew nearer...a twig snapped, causing Owen to look back, only to gasp upon seeing another jaguar charging at him!

"Dammit!" he cursed as he tried to shoot the cat, but before he could, a gray blur lunged from the shrubs and tackled the other jaguar!

"Tsume!" Lara gasped happily!

"Great timing, buddy!" Owen exclaimed.

Tsume stood his ground, growling at the jaguar in the tree. It looked at the newly arrived wolf in what could be interpreted as surprise, before it roared and ran off into the shrubs.

But Tsume didn't lower his guard, as Owen joined his side with his pistol drawn,  
"Yeah, we're not out of the woods yet..."

Lara got on the wolf's other side, her bow drawn and an arrow at the ready.

Tsume growled, looking and listening around for anything suspicious.

"...Let's go," Owen said. "If you see any sign of them...don't hesitate."

"I know," Lara replied.

They moved forward, slowly, covering all sides so nothing could sneak up on them again.

Tsume did look up several times, but it was only because of the monkeys.

"Don't worry pal, Howler Monkeys are harmless," Owen assured him.

They squeezed through a narrow gap between some trees, and stopped momentarily as one of the jaguars ran by.

Lara tried to suppress a gasp to keep herself from getting seen, but Tsume did growl.

They went up a cliff, then slid down a muddy hill, now finding themselves in a circular area with one big tree in the middle, and cliffs only animals could climb.

One of the jaguars came out of hiding, and was ready to pounce at them.

Just as it charged, Lara turned and shot an arrow in its side, causing it to roar in pain.

"Got it!" she exclaimed.

Tsume tackled it, and started wrestling with it.

Then out of nowhere, the second jaguar, who's coat wasn't as yellow as it's companion's, tackled Lara to the ground!

She used her bow to block it's bite, then Owen jumped on its back and wrapped his arms around its neck.

Before it could try to get him off, Lara stabbed it in the head through it's left ear with her makeshift dagger.

Soon, it dropped to the ground, dead, causing Lara to push its body off of her. Then she heard a loud yowl of pain.

"Tsume!" she cried as she looked back and saw the other jaguar, trying to bite Tsume's neck!

Owen shot it in its side, making it let go of the wolf.

It slowly approached them, growling. Lara scurried back into a wall, but Owen stayed where he was, staring down the big cat.

It got right in his face, glaring at him, then sniffed him, and he remained completely still.

The jaguar gave one last small roar, then turned around, picked up it's dead companion by the scruff of its neck, and climbed out of the area.

"...What happened?" Lara asked as she watched them leave.

"It just lost its mate," Owen explained. "So, it decided to leave."

He got up and went over to Tsume.

He looked him over and saw that he had a few scratches and a bite on his left foreleg, but nothing too serious.

He used a few of the rags and plants he and Lara had been collecting to patch the wolf up, then tended to any scrapes he and Lara had.

"Ah, that's better," she sighed.

"Now that we're free of the jaguars, I wanted to show you this," he pulled out a small journal he'd found. "Found it where we saw Miguel's flare."

"What's it say?" she asked, helping Tsume to his feet.

"It says, 'Every part of the world seems to have its own mythical forest-dwelling bipedal creature. Around here, it's known as Sisimite, the "guardian of the forest". Described as large and ape-like, it's rumored to kill male humans on sight, but takes the females to its cave for mating purposes'."

Lara shivered in disgust, "No, thank you. If there's any bipedal creature I want taking me to a cave for mating purposes, it's you."

"I thought I was the one who made the jokes around here," Owen smirked.

Lara giggled, "I'm learning."

"Also, was that thing about mating in a cave a challenge?" Owen teased.

Lara blushed at that, "Later, when we're not in a hurry."

Tsume barked, getting their attention as they followed after him.

"You think Jonah and the others are okay?" asked Lara.

"Hopefully," Owen said.

They climbed up the same cliff that the jaguar did, and a few more cliffs, then they saw more of the wrecked plane on the next big cliff ahead of them.

"There's part of the wreckage," Lara gasped. "Sam?! Jonah?!"

"Tommy?!" Owen called as well.

Tsume led where to go to get up there.

They had to push through some ferns and vines in order to keep up with him since the wolf was so much more agile than they were, but Tsume would stop and make sure that he didn't get too far away from them.

They climbed, and jumped a few cliffs and trees till they got right where the plane wreckage was.

"The plane!" Lara exclaimed. "Jonah! Are you there?!"

No answer came.

"Maybe he can't hear us," said Owen. "Let's get closer, but be careful."

Lara nodded before they made their way over to the plane, but seemed to find no sign of life.

What WAS there were more supply crates. Including the one with their pickaxes.

Tsume barked loudly, trying to see if anyone would come.

"Tsume?!" A familiar female voice called.

Lara gasped, "Sam!"

Sam emerged from some bushes and ran over to hug her best friend,  
"Thank God Tsume found you two!"

Tommy emerged from another set of bushes, followed by Jonah, who was holding his left arm.

"Jonah!" Lara exclaimed as she ran up to him, relieved that he was all right.

"Glad that you're all alright," Owen said, hugging Tommy.

"Me too, brother," the African American exclaimed.

"Do you know what happened to Miguel?" Sam asked.

Owen turned solemn, "Jaguars got him. If it wasn't for Tsume, Lara and I might've ended up the same way."

"Oh, no..." Sam whispered, sadly.

"It's all right," Lara said. "These things...just happen."

Owen noticed Jonah holding his arm,  
"Yo, what's wrong with your arm?"

Lara took a closer look and saw some sort of line on Jonah's arm. At first, she didn't think anything of it...until she saw it move under his skin, causing her to gasp.

"Some kind of parasite," said Jonah. "I was looking for some wormwood, but it doesn't grow around here."

"Oh, that's not good," said Owen.

Lara grabbed his arm and pulled out an arrow.

Jonah pulled away, "Whoa, hey! What are you doing?"

"If we leave it in there, it'll only get worse," she told him. "Sit."

Jonah sighed before he sat down on a log and Lara approached him.

"You sure you know what you're doing?" asked Jonah.

"Uh...I had something similar to me when I was a child in Egypt," said Lara. "I won't lie. It's going to hurt."

Sam turned away, not wanting to watch.

Tommy also looked away,  
"This reminds me too much of those Alien movies."

"Are you kidding?!" Owen exclaimed. "There's no comparison to the Chest Burster!"

"Moving on...!" Sam shouted, definitely wanting to change the topic. "Do you think that storm from earlier was THE storm, from the mural?"

"I don't know," Owen responded.

Jonah winced at Lara's treatment, "I think, maybe we should stop and take stock. We've been pushing so hard forward, flying into that storm-"

"I didn't think it was going to be that bad," said Lara. "I-"

"I should have insisted that we turn back," Jonah interrupted. "I mean, I get it. You lock onto a problem and everything else just disappears."

Lara couldn't help but feel just a bit guilty. This was just like back when they were dealing with Trinity in Siberia. "Not everything, I-"

"Hey, we're with you," Sam told her, kneeling beside her. "It's our choice."

"Most of the time," Jonah remarked.

"Smart ass," Tommy scoffed. "But seriously, if we die, who stops the cataclysms? Who keeps Trinity from doing what they want?"

"Answer: nobody," said Owen, causing Lara to smile a little.

"Sometimes I feel like I HAVE to keep going and if I don't, then I'll just let everyone down..." she said. "But maybe for the sake of a few hours, we could have turned back."

"Well...it's too late to turn back, now," said Owen. "Besides...Amelia's counting on us."

"Yeah..." Lara agreed.

She finally got the parasite out of Jonah's arm and held it between her fingers.

"Maybe we should give it a name?" Jonah suggested.

The others couldn't help but laugh a little.

"Okay," Lara said.

"Eli?" Jonah asked. "My cousin...he's always tryin' to get under my skin."

"Hahahaha!" Owen laughed and clapped his hands. "Nice!"

Lara laughed as well, before she dropped the parasite, "Goodbye, Eli." Then she squished it with her boot.

Jonah stood up, then Sam wrapped his arm in bandages.

"We should get moving," Tommy said. "If we find Kuwaq Yaku, we can rest for the night."

"Then let's get a move on," Sam said. "The sooner, the better."

"I think we can see the village through the vines over there," Jonah said, walking down a small hill.

"Glad you guys stayed at the crash site," Owen said.

"Well, if you two were out there, we wanted you to be able to find us," Tommy said. "But Tsume wanted to find you himself."

"We're glad he did," said Lara as she scratched the wolf's neck, causing him to pant happily.

"He's got his nose, we have a flare gun," Sam added.

"Yeah, I think Miguel was heading toward it, when..." Lara said.

"Poor guy..." Tommy muttered.

"Probably never saw 'em coming," said Owen.

"Jonah, how'd you get Eli in your arm?" Lara asked him.

"I was trying to figure out if the water was clean," he said. "Got my answer."

"This is why we carry canteens," said Owen.

"Do you guys really believe in all that...stuff...you said?" asked Jonah. "About cataclysms? The apocalypse?"

"We believe that if it IS true, it's important enough to die for," Owen said. "Or for Trinity to kill for."

"So this is really about revenge?" Tommy asked.

"No!" Lara exclaimed. "When I took the Key, I also felt a power, pulling me toward something. It's real."

"After everything with Yamatai and Himiko, I'll believe anything." Sam said.

Tsume barked as if to agree with her sentiment.

The group soon arrived at some old ruins, where they saw the path blocked by some logs.

"We can get through here," Owen said. "Someone give me a hand?"

"On it," Tommy went over.

Soon, they pulled one of the logs away, allowing them to get through.

Lara, Tsume, Sam and Jonah crawled under, then Tommy, and finally, Owen.

Jonah made sure to put the log back down before the group turned to see a far off village in the distance.

"Land ho!" Tommy exclaimed.

Lara laughed at that, "Must be Kuwaq Yaku. We've got to get down there."

The group began to make their way down a path, only for them to stop at a narrow ledge.

"You sure this is a path?" asked Jonah.

"You see any other way around?" Owen asked him.

"Tsume, you go around through the plants and meet us on the other side, okay?" Lara told the wolf.

Tsume nodded before he headed off on his own.

"Okay, no offense, but I think we should head across in order based on our weight," Tommy suggested.

"Good thinking," Lara agreed.

Sam went first, followed by Lara, then Tommy, then Owen, and finally, Jonah.

They shimmied their way across the ledge, being careful not to slip.

"Don't look down, don't look down," Tommy muttered.

"You're not helping," Sam told him.

Parts of the ledge crumbled, but they didn't fall. Eventually, they made it to the other side.

"AND, unclench," Owen quipped.

Lara covered her mouth, trying not to laugh.

"Come on, you can laugh," Sam told her.

"Yeah, it's good to laugh!" Tommy added. "Especially now."

Lara gave in and laughed.

"There it is!" Owen exclaimed.

Tsume came out of the bushes and drew their attention to the man-made structure ahead of them.

"Who do you think built all this?" Jonah asked.

"It could have been the Inca," said Lara. "They knew a lot about hydraulics."

Tsume walked ahead, sniffing the ground for any kind of tracks.

Going up some steps, they found some kind of mechanism controlling the bridge, which was currently down.

"I hope this structure is here because we're on our way to that village," said Jonah.

"Me, too," said Lara.

"The bridge is down," said Owen. "You think we can lift it with counterweights?"

"Maybe," Lara replied. She and Owen ran down the steps to check the bottom part of the mechanism.

Along the way, they inspected a couple monoliths, and a nearby chest. Inside it was a bowl filled with red powder.

"Huh," Owen hummed. "Cinnabar was used in the ancient past for producing a bright orange pigmentation on ceramics, murals, tattoos, and in religious ceremonies."

Soon, they went to keep looking.

"You know," Jonah began, "If I had known how much time I'd spend in the wilderness...I'd have paid more attention in Boy Scouts."

Lara chuckled at this,  
"Wasn't your thing?"

"Well, my family situation meant we didn't get to do a lot of stuff like that," Jonah explained.

"That's too bad, it can really help," Tommy said.

"You were in Boy Scouts?" Sam asked.

"Me and Owen both," he replied.

"What was that like?" Lara asked.

"It was fun!" Owen replied. "Of course, there was that one time I went camping and got leeches stuck to my face...not fun."

Lara shivered at that, "Gross!"

"Unlike that part in Avatar," Sam said, chuckling, "Sokka, you've got an elbow leach!"

"Where?!" Tommy exclaimed, imitating Sokka perfectly.

"Where do you think?" Sam added, still doing Katara.

"Why do thing keep attaching to me?!" Tommy yelled, pretending to pull a leach off his elbow.

The group all laughed at that. Even Tsume was snickering!

"What about you, Lara?" Jonah asked. "Ever do girl scouts or nature camp as a kid?"

"Does boarding school count?" Lara asked in a joking manner.

Jonah laughed, "I don't know, does it?"

"Unless you went on stuff like hikes or anything," Sam began, "I don't think it does."

Lara laughed at that, "Well, Roth showed me a few things. I always preferred the company of adults anyway."

Owen sighed, "I miss that guy."

"Me too," Lara replied.

"We all do," Jonah said.

Tsume whimpered in agreement, which caused Owen to pet him on the head.

They walked over to a big double-wheel made of stone, with a push handle attached to it.

Behind it was a rope ladder.

"So, now what do we do?" asked Sam.

Lara climbed up the ladder, finding a turning mechanism with a handle.

She went over and pulled it.

This caused water to run down a water-way to a see-saw behind the stone wheel.

"Hey, I think that did something," said Jonah. "The water must power the bridge, somehow."

Then, Lara went to the next mechanism, but she couldn't push it.

"It's too heavy," she said. "Someone give me a hand."

Owen went over and helped her push it.

They pushed the wheel toward the pressure plate, and the scale began to tip over, allowing water to fill the bucket.

"Alright, let's see what those counterweights do," Tommy said.

Soon, the bucket lowered and the counterweights rose...but there was another problem.

"Guys?" Sam asked. "The bucket is leaking!"

"Okay, let's try again," Owen said. "Jonah, you help this time. Lara-"

"I'm on it," she answered, already knowing what to do.

Owen and Jonah pushed the wheel again, then put their backs against it to keep it in place.

Lara went down below so that she could attach a rope to the other side with her rope arrows.

"Okay, let go!" she called.

The two boys let go, making the mechanism go back up, bringing the bridge with it.

"Alright, let's get across," Tommy said before he jumped to the bridge.

Jonah went next, then Sam. Owen waited for Lara to get back up to them, then she jumped over. Followed by Tsume, and finally, Owen.

"Watch that last step," Owen began, "It's a doozy."

"I've got it," Lara said.

Everyone made their way over to the entrance of some kind of old temple.

"Whoa...creepy," Sam whispered, getting chills down her back. "It almost feels like Yamatai all over again."

There was some barred wood blocking the path, which Jonah moved out of the way.

"Ladies first," Owen offered.

Lara and Sam both walked in with Tommy following after. Owen went in next, followed by Tsume, and then Jonah.

Inside was a statue of some kind.

"What's that?" Sam asked as she took a photo of it.

Lara approached it, "I think it's some sort of stele, or..."

She tried to push it down, but it was stuck.

"Help me with this," she said, and Owen went up and pushed it down with her, revealing some sort of gold plate.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

"A...recipe," Owen answered. "A mixture of herbs. It will definitely help if we run into any more jaguars."

"Let's hope we don't," Jonah said.

Tsume growled in agreement.

They left the ruins, and saw that Kuwaq Yaku was closer now.

"Good, we're almost there," Tommy sighed in relief.

"Can't wait to get back to civilization," Sam said.

They headed down a hill, finding more ruins.

"These are different from the ruins in Mexico," said Jonah as he looked around, while Tsume sniffed out a carcass, probably left behind by a jaguar. Not one to miss out on a free meal, the wolf began to tear off any remaining meat.

"Lara, does your Dad's notebooks say anything about Peru?" Sam asked as she took some pictures.

"No, I mean there is supposed to be a secret City of Gold, in Peru," Lara responded. "Paititi; every treasure hunter on Earth is looking for it. But Dad's notes stop in Mexico, like he lost interest, or..."

"Or...?" Jonah asked.

"I don't know," she said. "The next volume picks up in Syria."

"Hmm..." Owen hummed in curiosity. "Makes you wonder..."

"You think...he didn't have the chance to?" asked Sam. "You know...because of Trinity?"

"...Maybe," Lara answered as she stood in front of a monolith.

Once she was done reading it, Tommy asked,  
"How'd the riddle go again? "Chase the heart of the serpent"..."

"To the silver-crowned mountain, where The Twins confer," Owen finished.

"What does that mean?" asked Sam.

"We'll know when we see it," Owen said.

They headed over to some more ruins, and inside was a way out blocked by vegetation.

"I think we can get out through there," Jonah stated.

Lara and Owen lifted up the stone column that was blocking the exit, then Lara crawled under it to the other side.

Just as she was about to hold it up for Owen, the same jaguar from before came up behind her and pulled her away!

"AAAAAAAH!" Lara screamed.

"LARA!" Owen cried as he tried to go after her.

The jaguar clawed at her back, even bit her, but she elbowed it in the face.

Tommy helped Owen lift the stone column, then Tsume crawled under it and rushed at the big cat!

Getting in between it and Lara, who was leaning against a tree, wincing in pain.

"_Move wolf, and I might let you have a taste of her!_" The jaguar growled.

"_No, these people are my friends!_" Tsume growled back.

"_Then you'll die too!_" The jaguar roared, and they began to tussle.

Tsume yowled as he felt the jaguar claw at his back, but then he bit at the jaguar's ear and tore it right off, sending it yowling in pain!

Lara shot it in its side with an arrow, distracting it.

This gave Tsume the opportunity to go for the jugular vein.

He dug his fangs deep...and then tore the jaguar's neck open, causing blood to spray everywhere!

The jaguar collapsed to the ground, it's blood soaking the ground.

The rest of the group crawled under the column, and made their way over.

"You two okay?" Sam asked.

Tsume barked in affirmation, but Lara stayed silent as she began to cut off the jaguar's hide.

"Great job, buddy," Owen petted the wolf, then went over to his wife.

He examined her back; the middle back part of her top was torn, and there were two bleeding claw marks.

"Is it as bad as I think it is?" Lara asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"It's pretty bad," said Owen.

"Damn," Lara cursed.

"Don't worry," Owen said. "We can fix this."

"Tommy and I will go make camp," Jonah said.

"I'll help you, Lara," said Sam as she put Lara's arm around her shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Scene Change_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It was now nighttime, and everyone sat around a campfire.

Jonah was stirring a pot of stew above the fire, while Lara was making an outfit out of the jaguar hide.

Owen was getting some medical supplies for Lara's back.

Tsume sat nearby, keeping watch for any other predators.

Owen put some rubbing alcohol on a gauze,  
"Okay, ready?"

Lara nodded, holding a stick in her mouth.

He pressed it to her back, making her wince for a minute.

Then she took the stick out of her mouth.

"You know, with everything we've been through recently, I've been thinking about my brother," Jonah said. "I always tried to protect him, from my father, from himself. But I lost him."

"...I didn't know that," said Sam.

"If I had been in the right place at the right time, he would still be here," Jonah added. "If I had eyes in the back of my head..."

"You can't protect everyone," Tommy said.

Owen finished bandaging up Lara's back.

"You're all set, Lara," Owen said.

"Thank you," Lara replied.

Jonah filled some bowls with the stew, and passed them out,  
"I miss him."

"I know the feeling," Lara responded. "My parents...I miss them so much. They never got to meet the man who stole my heart, or meet their granddaughter..."

Owen put his arm around her shoulder and kissed her forehead.

"I had a dream about my mother, the day before our wedding," she told him.

"Yeah?" he asked, a bit surprised.

"Mhm, it was so vivid..." she confirmed. "When I was little, my father used to keep things from me- hide things- about her, especially."

"Why would he do that?" Sam questioned.

"After she died, he thought they'd cause me pain," she answered. "It didn't stop me from looking for them, of course. ***chuckle*** I still have so many questions."

"Your Dad created as many mysteries as he solved," Tommy said.

Tsume went over to Lara and lied down next to her, nuzzling her side.

"So, Dominguez said that he would use the Silver Box of Ix Chel to remake the world," Owen said, changing the subject.

"If any of you had that power, what would you do?" Lara asked.

"Honestly, nothing," Owen said. "The world isn't perfect, but...I wouldn't change a thing about it."

"I'd panic probably," Tommy said, chuckling.

"Same here," Jonah agreed.

"Ditto," Sam said.

"Jonah, you wouldn't go back to when your brother was alive, and be with him again?" Lara asked.

"And lose everything else? No way," Jonah responded. "I like this world. Like you said, Owen; it's not perfect, but everything I love now is in it."

Owen smiled and nodded his head.

Sam yawned, "I'm gonna get some sleep."

"That sounds good to me," said Tommy. "We're gonna need it."

Lara leaned against Owen's shoulder and slowly drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**I think this is the longest chapter I've ever done for this story!**

**I'm also writing an AU story where Lara encounters the Sisimite, but Owen's not in it. The story is on Archive of our Own, "Shadow of the Tomb Raider: The Ape-Man".**

**Read and review, please!**


	5. Chapter 5: Kuwaq Yaku

**Sorry again. ^^;**

**I do not own anything from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 5: Kuwaq Yaku**

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Dream/Flashback_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"To claim her treasure, the adventurer, Lara Croft, must outwit the King, reach the Forbidden Tomb, and solve the Mystery of the White Queen," Nine-year old Lara narrated, looking over a crayon-drawn map. "The way will be fraught with trials."

"Lara!" Richard called from the manor. "Are you doing your maths homework?"

"...The adventurer shall not dally, any longer," Lara said before she looked up at the window. "In a minute, Dad!"

Young Lara ran around her jungle gym, climbed along the walls of the manor (Being careful when sneaking past her Dad's office), going into a big room full of ancient artifacts, and solving a statue puzzle that revealed a hidden room.

She truly felt like she was on some sort of ancient adventure.

She walked into the now revealed room,  
"Her heart pounding, our hero crosses the threshold into the unknown." She looked around at all the items in the room. Books, paintings, a canvas, and more. "These are mom's things..."

She walked over to a small round table, finding a green book with the title "Tale of the White Queen".

Lara remembered when her parents read the story to her.

It was such a nice, happy time. She would always go to sleep smiling at the end.

**_""The path was dark and guarded by bats," said the red knight," Richard had read to her, Amelia sitting beside him. "The White Queen regarded him with a curious smile and said:"_**

**_""Bats! I'm not afraid of bats. I'm not afraid of anything!"" Amelia continued._**

Lara smiled softly...but it was a bit of a sad smile. She missed those times when her family was happy together.

She then walked over to some paintbrushes, picking up one to look at it.

_**"Tell me about this," Her mother had asked her, when they spent time together, painting.**_

_**Lara had just painted herself and her mother with a dinosaur, standing next to a pyramid.**_

_**"You and me are riding a T-Rex in Egypt."**_

_**"And where's daddy?" Amelia asked, curiously.**_

_**"At work," Lara answered.**_

_**Although she continued smiling, Amelia's face turned sad and disappointed.**_

Just then, Lara was snapped out of her line of thought when she heard a creaking sound, causing her to look back and see some sort of wooden box. As she walked up to it, she picked it up and opened it, finding a golden bracelet...Amelia's bracelet.

**_"She's going to grow up without a father!"_**

**_"I will be back in one month! I promise!"_**

**_She remembered overhearing that argument, and had hidden around the corner to watch them._**

**_"Yes, how many times have I heard you, that you're going to be back in one month?"_**

**_"Amelia, this is very, very important. I cannot abandon my responsibilities, just on the verge of-"_**

**_"You are always on the verge! Your obsession is destroying this family."_**

**_"Obsession?! I'm obsessed?!"_**

**_"You are missing your daughter's childhood because you're always in some tomb on the other side of the world! Why can't you be happy with what you have?"_**

Lara stared sadly at the bracelet before she put it back in the box. She didn't want to admit it, but she shared her mother's feelings. She wished her father didn't have to leave so much to go to someplace that she didn't understand

As she stared at the jewelry box, she heard a voice nearby.

"For goodness sake, YOU DON'T HAVE TO DEAL WITH IT!"

"Dad?" Lara asked as she went outside.

"Please, for goodness sake, you've got to understand, this is probably the most important one I've arrived at! ….Well, okay, what do I do, I have to-"

"Dad?" Lara called again.

**BANG!**

"DAD!" Lara ran to her father's office after hearing the gunshot. She pushed through the double doors, finding Richard lying over his desk, his head bleeding, and a gun in his left hand.

Lara gasped as tears started falling from her eyes,  
"No... Dad...wake up...please… Don't leave me!"

Winston rushed into the office a few seconds later,  
"Sir, I thought I heard-...! Good God...!"

"Winston...!" Lara sobbed.

The butler pulled her away from her father's body and hugged her, letting her cry into his suit, shedding a few tears of his own,  
"I'm so sorry, Miss Lara..."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_End Flashback_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning, everyone except Lara was awake, sitting at the campfire while Jonah made breakfast.

Owen sat with Lara before he glanced at her sleeping face. He gently reached over to brush some hair away and put it behind her ear.

But she gasped and sprung up from her sleep.

"Hey, it's okay!" Owen told her, grabbing her shoulders.

Lara panted a bit, calming herself down.

"You okay?" Owen asked, which caused Lara to nod her head. "...You dreamt about your dad, didn't you?"

Lara nodded again, "Also, some more memories of Mom..."

"...Lemme guess," said Owen. "She was arguing with your dad, again?"

"Not just that," Lara replied. "I was...remembering the happy times, too."

He nodded at that.

Jonah handed out breakfast to everyone.

"Thanks, Jonah," said Owen.

"Wonder what terrors the jungle has in store for us, today," Jonah inquired.

"We can handle it," Tommy said. "I'm just hoping for no more parasites or jaguars."

Tsume growled and shook his head in agreement, causing Owen to gently scratch his ears.

After Lara quickly finished her breakfast,  
"Babe, can you help me with this?" She held up the jaguar pelt outfit she'd sewn last night. It was just a top and some leggings.

"Sure," he said.

He helped her slip it on. Once everyone was finished eating, they got up and went over to exit the area.

With Jonah and Owen's help, they pushed a log out of the way before they continued onward.

"What do you think we'll find in Kuwaq Yaku?" Sam asked.

"Running water would be nice," Lara said.

"Well, I'm with Tommy on "no more jaguars"," Jonah said.

Everyone laughed at that.

Tsume sniffed the air as he looked around, keeping a lookout for any kind of danger. Once he was certain things were okay, he trotted on ahead.

They continued on, jumping a gap next to an old cabin.

"You think it's worth looking in there?" asked Sam.

"Well, let's see," Lara said as she pried the door open with her pickaxe...only to find garbage and a rotting skeleton.

"Oh, jeez," Owen groaned with his nose covered. "That stinks."

They left it, then found a small hill to slide down, which lead to a dirt road.

"There's the road," Lara inquired.

Everyone slid down it, but then hid. Ahead of them was an APC (Armored Personnel Carrier) belonging to Trinity, along with more soldiers.

"Shit...!" Owen cursed. "Just what we need..."

The APC was currently stuck in the mud, and the driver was trying in vain to get it out.

"Dammit, it's stuck!" One of the soldiers cursed.

"Now what do we do?" Another one asked.

Owen looked to the others, motioning them to follow him, but to be quiet.

Lara covered herself in some mud, then Owen did the same.

Jonah, Tommy, Sam and Tsume hid in the plants, while Lara and Owen pressed against a muddy wall. The mud they covered themselves with camouflaged them.

Lara and Owen quietly moved closer to the soldiers, preparing for the kill.

One stood near the wall, so Owen snuck up on him and broke his neck.

Jonah did the same to one standing by the plants.

"When was the last time this thing was serviced?" asked one of the other soldiers, not noticing that their comrades had been killed. "This is rusty."

"Don't get distracted, Mendez," said another while Lara and the others snuck by them.

"What are we looking for, here?" Another soldier asked.

"Anything that moves, anything that doesn't," Another replied.

Lara moved to below a small cliff, where one of the soldiers was standing. She climbed up to his feet, stabbed him in the back with her pickaxe and pulled him down.

"They still haven't found that relic?" the soldier kept talking. "I'd love to be the guy that does."

"Not me," answered his friend.

"Why not? You'd be a hero."

"I'd be dead, more likely. No thanks. I'll keep looking for hostiles."

Lara climbed up the cliff before she spotted Jonah kill another soldier, then drag him into the bushes.

Everyone got in front of the APC, when...

"It's quiet, what's your team doing?" One soldier asked.

"I'll check," Another one said, walking toward them.

Owen and Lara crawled under the APC, while the others hid back in the bushes.

As they hid, the soldiers began to talk, causing Lara to look at Owen and put a finger to her lips, telling him to be quiet so that they could listen.

"We know there's the main temple. What we're looking for is any smaller ruins we might have missed before."

They kept crawling, but stopped when one soldier stepped out of the APC. Luckily, they weren't spotted.

There were two guys ahead of them, and two more checking the rear.

"I take right, you take left," Owen whispered.

Lara nodded before they crawled out from under the vehicle. Lara hit the guy on the left in the head with her bow, while Owen grabbed the guy on the right from behind. Then Lara hit him in the head with her bow as well.

Tsume then ran out and killed the remaining two by biting their necks, faster than they could blink.

Everyone went through some plants, to the other side of a broken bridge, where there was a truck and a closed gate.

"So, now what?" Sam asked.

Lara spotted a small cliff to climb up, so she went for it.

As she climbed up, another soldier appeared over her, but she grabbed his rifle and threw him over the edge.

"AAAAAAAAAH!" he screamed as he fell.

As she climbed up, another guy came out of no where, aiming a gun at her,  
"Oh no you don't!"

Luckily, Tsume tackled him and ripped out his throat.

Everyone climbed up after them as Lara took the assault rifle and pistol for herself.

Owen also found something else: it looked like a spiked armored collar, the kind that shepherd dogs wore to protect their neck from wolves.

"Huh," he muttered before he looked at Tsume, who blinked at it in curiosity. Owen smirked before he held it up to Tsume, who put his head through it.

The collar fit him perfectly.

"Looks like Tsume has a weapon on his neck," said Sam.

"You look badass, buddy," Owen told him as he pet him.

Everyone headed forward, into a cave.

"Ugh, my arm is so itchy," Jonah groaned.

"That's means it's healing," Tommy told him.

"I might have liked it better when it was injured," Jonah remarked.

"Oh, I know," Lara agreed. "I'm just trying not to think about my back."

Sam shuddered. "Let's not talk about that, please."

"Yeah, I've seen enough grossness," said Tommy.

They continued on, jumping a gap.

"You know, my grandmother survived a tsunami in the 60s," Jonah said.

"What happened?" Owen asked.

"She lost friends, her family lost their business," Jonah continued. "But after that, she could feel things coming-volcanic eruptions, storms... other things."

"Oh, man," said Sam. "She must've been terrified."

Tsume whimpered as he went up to Jonah and nudged his hand. He pet him in gratitude.

The way out of the dark tunnel was blocked by some wood and flammable rags. Lara crafted some fire arrows and used them to burn away the blockage.

As they made their way out, Tommy asked, "Any idea what 'the Twins' in that riddle are?"

"Could be anything," Owen answered. "A pair of monuments, or mountains, or streams."

"I guess we'll know it when we see it," Jonah said.

"Yeah," Lara agreed while Owen looked up.

"Hey, do you guys hear something?" Owen asked. "Like music?"

"It sounds like it's coming from somewhere up ahead," said Tommy. "Let's check it out."

The group headed toward the sound, and they could see a bunch of people walking around some sort of compound.

"There's people down there," said Lara.

"Hope they're friendly," Jonah added.

They went up the stairs to the establishment, and a young woman, who had been fixing up a speedboat engine, went over to greet them.

She was Peruvian, with short black hair and brown eyes. She was wearing a short sleeved leather jacket over a navy blue shirt with some kind of army based picture on it, and blue jeans. She was also wearing a red and white cap with an "R" on it, and a pair of sunglasses clipped on the front of her shirt.

"Hi," Lara greeted.

"Hope we're not intruding on anything," Owen added.

"Do you know if there's a place nearby we can stay for the night?" asked Jonah.

"...How'd you get so deep in the jungle?" asked the woman. "Lose your tour group or something?"

"Not exactly..." Tommy said.

"There were some guys here earlier, looking for artifacts," the woman continued. "You with them?"

"Trinity," Lara deduced.

"Definitely not," Owen said.

The woman looked to her work, then shrugged, "Ah, I need a break anyway. Come with me."

They followed her from the patio up to the upstairs bar.

"I'm sorry to ask so many questions, but the only B'n'B in town is my place," the woman explained.

"Well, you can't be too careful," Jonah understood, then held out his hand. "By the way, I'm Jonah."

"Abby," The woman introduced herself as she shook his hand.

"Lara," Lara shook Abby's hand next.

"I'm Owen."

"Tommy."

"I'm Sam."

Abby then noticed the wolf standing between Lara and Owen, and she was more than surprised,  
"A wolf? Never seen one before."

"This is Tsume," Owen introduced him. "We met him a while ago; he's saved our lives more than twice."

"Can he do any tricks?" asked Abby.

"Tsume, shake," Lara said, and Tsume raised his paw, allowing Abby to shake it gently.

She chuckled at that, "Impressive."

She led them over to a table, "Come in, have a seat." She then looked at the bartender. "Carlos, six."

As everyone sat down, Tsume yawned as he lied at Lara's feet.

Anyone who had weapons, put them on the far side of the table, making Abby a little nervous.

"So, what are you here for, exactly?" she asked.

"Well, we were following a riddle when our plane went down," Jonah answered.

"You mean it crashed?" Abby questioned.

"Yeah," Jonah replied.

Abby scoffed a bit, "And you just, walked out of the crash?"

"Uh, well, you know, it was cruising pretty low," Jonah said.

Abby looked at the group, incredulously, while Lara chuckled.

"We are...looking for Maya ruins," she said.

"Maya?" Abby repeated. "You know you're in Peru, right?"

"Uhh...yeah, that's a long story," said Tommy.

Carlos brought over six bottles, then Abby passed them out,  
"Well, you don't seem like a typical archeologist."

"Oh no, these two are the archeologists," Sam corrected her, pointing to Lara and Owen. "I'm the photographer."

"I have too many skills for just one job," Tommy said.

"Me, I'm just the cook," Jonah said.

"Really?" Abby asked. "Have you tried any of our local ceviche yet? It's a specialty."

Jonah grimaced a bit, "Not unless it grows in the jungle."

Tsume sniffed the air and licked his lips, hungrily.

"Aw, don't tell me you missed our famous Fish Trees," Abby said.

Jonah chuckled again, and they looked at each other.

Lara just watched them, smiling, while Owen, Tommy and Sam all had knowing looks of mischief.

That's when Abby noticed the picture of the runes that Lara had taken.  
"...Where did you take this?" she asked.

"Uh...Mexico," Lara answered. "Why?"

"Oh, I've seen this symbol before," Abby answered.

"Where?" Owen asked.

"There are some ruins nearby, and a small rock with something like this carved on it," Abby said.

"Do you mind if we take a look around?" Lara asked.

"Nah, be my guest," Abby told them. "But I guarantee they are not Maya. My people were Inca, and proud of it."

"Huh," Tommy said. "Well, we appreciate the help."

Everyone got up to leave, but...

"Hey, um...why don't you rest for a while," Lara said to Jonah.

"Are you sure?" Jonah asked.

"We promised you a day off," she responded.

Jonah chuckled, "I'm not gonna say no to that."

"Have fun," Owen lightly punched his arm.

Sam giggled, but she tried to hide it by covering her mouth. Even Tsume was chuckling.

Jonah just looked at Abby, and they smiled at each other.

"You guys can go on without me too," Sam said, holding up her camera. "I'm gonna go get my "Peter Parker" on~!"

"Tommy, go with her," said Lara. "Please."

"Alright," he responded, then they headed off.

Lara and Owen walked away from the bar area, where Owen got out his phone.

"Good, still have service," he sighed in relief.

"Making sure our little girl is safe?" Lara asked.

"And everyone else," he responded, then pressed a call to his parents house in San Francisco.

It rang a few times before Phoebe's face appeared on the screen.

"**Hey, hon!**" she said.

"Hey, Mom," said Owen. "How's Amelia?"

"**She's fine,**" she told him. "**Little dear is taking a nap right now. Is everything alright? You seem stressed, and that's not like you.**"

"You can tell?" Owen asked. "Well...we kinda crashed."

"**What?!**" Phoebe questioned.

"Mom, not so loud...!" Owen whispered.

"**Sorry,**" Phoebe lowered her voice. "**Is everyone okay?**"

"Yes, we all survived," Lara said. "Well...almost, our pilot was eaten by jaguars."

"**Oh, dear...**" Phoebe whispered.

"We just thought we'd call and check in," said Owen.

"**Well, Amelia is okay, and we're safe too,**" Phoebe assured him.

Lara sighed in relief, "Thank God..."

"**You two continue to be safe, okay?**" Phoebe told them.

"We will," Lara answered. "The same goes to you all over there."

"**Bye now,"** Phoebe said.

"Bye," Owen and Lara both said, then ended the call.

Lara sighed as she sat down, while Owen sat next to her.

"You okay?" he asked.

"...No," Lara replied.

He pulled her into a hug.

"...I'm so scared, Owen," Lara whispered.

"I am too," he responded, kissing the top of her head.

Lara leaned against his shoulder as she held his hand, causing him to smile at her.

"It'll be okay," Owen assured. "I promise."

"Thanks," she sighed.

"Come on," Owen said as he stood up. "Let's go have a look around."

Lara nodded before she followed Owen and began to walk around the village to talk.

Tsume got up and followed after them, not so sure about being in an unfamiliar place with so many people.

Leaving the bar's patio, they came to a two-way crossroad. The left direction led to more of the village, and the right led to a dock area.

Sitting on a wooden crate between the two directions was a man in a cowboy hat,  
"Hey, you want to know your way around Kuwaq Yaku, just ask me."

"Are you the local tour guide?" Lara asked.

The man shrugged, "I know where to go...and who to steer you clear of. Best fish is on the dock, obviously. Tacos are best at El Licor De Cerdo, but his beer is piss-warm."

"We'll keep that in mind," Owen chuckled as Lara laughed as well.

"Oh, and Omar, stay away from that guy..." the man advised. "You don't need his kind of trouble. Thinks he can just come to town and take what he wants."

"Right," Lara responded. "Well, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for trouble."

The man chuckled a bit, "Keep them both open."

"You got it," Owen nodded. "Thanks for the advice."

They went left, and saw two men arguing at a nearby house.

"Omar, they've been working all night!"

"And? Isn't that what they're paid for? Get lost!" Omar kicked the other man down the steps. "Now fuck off and let me watch the damn game."

Owen and Lara went over to help the man up.

"You alright?" Owen asked him.

"No," the man responded. "It's all terrible, as usual. These...pillagers...come to town, hire us to dig up our own relics, don't even pay us a living wage..."

"And they run off with it and profit," Lara finished.

"We're all desperate here," said the man. "There's no work since Porvenir pulled out. We're sitting ducks."

"...And I imagine the storm hasn't helped matters," said Lara.

"What little we had has gone underwater," the man answered. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"We have experience with these kinds of people," Owen said. "Maybe we can help."

The man shrugged, "I don't know what good it'll do. Did I catch your names?"

"Lara, and this is my husband."

"Owen."

"I'm Victor," the man introduced himself. "If you want to talk to Omar, the Executive Lead Tormentor in Charge of Theft and Pillaging, he's in there."

He pointed behind him, to the guy watching TV.

"Thanks," Owen said.

"Be careful, he doesn't like to be challenged," Victor warned them.

"Neither do we," said Owen before he and Lara made their way inside and saw a man sitting in front of the TV. When Lara got in front of him, he glared at her.

"Piss off," he said. "You're spoiling the reception."

"That's my wife you're talking to," Owen glared while Tsume growled.

Omar fell off his couch when he saw the wolf,  
"What the fuck?!"

"He's our friend," Owen said. "And as long as you stop being a dick, we won't have him eat you."

"What do you want?" Omar questioned. "Looking for work? Well you're out of luck, we have enough people. Marco's in charge of "HR" now, anyway."

"Alright, do you know where he is?" Lara asked.

"The bar, where else?" Omar told them.

With that, Owen, Lara and Tsume headed back to the bar.

When they got there, they found a man in a green jacket.

"We're looking for Marco," said Lara.

"Why? For what?" asked the man.

"We just wanna talk to him, okay?" asked Owen.

Tsume growled, as if saying "Let them through or else I bite off your hands".

"He doesn't want trouble," the man responded.

"Neither do we," Lara said. "We're looking for work."

"Oh, work...okay, good," the man sighed in relief.

"So, you're Marco?" Owen realized.

"Tell me Omar didn't send you here to mess with me," said Marco. "If any of those animals hurts my son, I'll-"

"Marco, we're not with Omar," said Lara. "Believe me."

"And we have a child ourselves, so we can imagine how worried you are," Owen added. "What happened to your son?"

"I blew out my knee, so Omar took Pablo to replace me at the dig site," Marco said. "Said I was "HR" now and that it was my job to find a replacement, otherwise..."

"Otherwise he'd keep working your son," Lara finished.

"I'm worried he's just gonna keep Pablo up there even if I bring him someone," Marco stressed.

"Well, it's a good thing you've just hired two someones," Owen said.

"Really? You-you'd do that?" Marco asked, in happy disbelief.

"We wouldn't want to disappoint the boss, would we?" Lara said.

"Thank you," Marco said. "If you see Pablo, please... tell him I'm here."

Soon, the three of them went off in search of Pablo.

They eventually found a large tree that had fallen over, and there was another area behind it.

"You think he's down this way?" asked Owen.

"Only way to know," Lara said as they went through.

They saw a little boy running towards them, but he tripped.

"Por favor, ayúdame!" (Please, help me)

The three of them ran over to him, and Lara knelt down to his level,  
"Estás bien?" (Are you okay?)

"Vienen tras de mi," The boy said, holding his knee.  
(They're coming after me)

"Eres Pablo?" Owen asked.  
(Are you Pablo?)

"Si," The boy answered.

"Está bien, tu padre nos envoi," Lara told him. "Él está en casa de Abby's. Ve a su encuentro allí, nosotros nos encargaremos de estos chicos."  
(It's okay, your father sent us. He's at Abby's. Go meet him there, we'll take care of these guys.)

Pablo hugged her, "Gracias, muchas gracias."

Lara hugged him back, smiling.

"Tsume, go with him," said Owen. "Make sure he gets back there, safely."

Tsume barked in agreement, then led Pablo back to Abby's.

Lara and Owen then trudged through some knee-deep mud to get to where Pablo had come from. On the way, they heard a gunshot.

"That doesn't sound good," Lara said.

"Go for a closer look?" Owen asked.

"Yes...but let's tread carefully," said Lara.

Once they were out of the mud, they climbed through a narrow gap, where they saw two men dumping dead bodies.

Lara and Owen hid in the plants and snuck over to them.

One walked away, but the other stayed by the bodies.

Lara hid against a wall covered with plants, snuck up behind the man, and stabbed him.

Owen snuck over to the guy that walked away, who was now messing with a generator powering a crane.

He tried to sneak up on him, but he accidentally stepped on a twig.

"What the fu-" the man started as he turned around, only for Owen to stab him with his knife and cover his mouth.

"Shh~!" he whispered.

There were two more guys standing by some steps that led to an upper part of the ruins.

Luckily, one of them walked away. Lara shot the guy still by the steps in the head with an arrow, then did the same to the guy who'd walked away.

There were two more guys standing by some steps that led to an upper part of the ruins.

Luckily, one of them walked away. Lara shot the guy still by the steps in the head with an arrow, then did the same to the guy who'd walked away.

"You think it's a good idea to kill all of them?" asked Owen.

"You want them to kill any more hostages?" she questioned back.

Agreeing with her, they headed up the steps and found more men, and hostages.

Owen put a finger to his lips, gesturing Lara to stay quiet.

He snuck on one of the guys and stabbed him.

Lara hid against a wall of plants, then shot the rest of the men with arrows to the head.  
"Alright, that's all of them."

Owen went over to the four survivors,  
"Are you all okay?"

"Si," One man responded.

"You're free now," Owen told them.

"Bless you both," One woman said.

The couple then went back to Abby's, and saw Tsume waiting with Pablo and Marco.

Tsume barked as he went up to Owen and Lara, who greeted him with pets.

"You made it!" Marco exclaimed happily. "Pablo told me what you did. I...I don't know what to say, apart from thank you."

"Of course," Owen responded.

"Many years ago, when my grandfather was still a boy, men came here and tried to cut down the wilderness around the village," Marco explained. "Everyone was afraid to stand up to them, except my grandfather. A fifteen year old boy with an empty gun, stood on the edge of the village and held back machines and men twice his size."

Lara nodded in understanding,

"Sometimes the courage of one person can outweigh the cowardice of dozens."

"I still have the gun he used to hold them back," Marco said. "I'd like you to have it, as a symbol of courage...and my gratitude."

"Thank you," Owen said, as Marco handed him the gun; a Desert Eagle Mark XIX.

"By the way, what are your names?" Marco asked.

"I'm Lara," Lara responded. "This is my husband, Owen, and this is Tsume."

"Thank you, all of you," Marco said. "I'll have a new story to tell."

With that, they headed off to where the ruins were supposed to be.

They went around the market, and finally found them.

"So, these are the ruins," said Owen. "What do you think, Lara?"

"Could be it," she responded, then turned on her radio. "Jonah, Owen and I found Incan ruins, but I think the foundation of the temple is older."

"**Yeah,**" Jonah responded. "**Abby remembered where she saw that symbol. It's inside the temple somewhere.**"

"Great, tell her "thank you"," Owen said.

"**I'm right here,**" Abby responded via the radio. "**You can thank me by not breaking anything.**"

Jonah chuckled at that, "**Be right there, guys.**"

"**We're on our way, too,**" Sam's voice called.

"**Don't start without us,**" Tommy added.

"We'll wait for you, but I don't know for how long," said Owen.

The couple and the wolf went inside the ruins, looking around in amazement.

Jonah came in a couple minutes later,  
"Looks a lot bigger on the outside."

Tsume sniffed the air, but then sneezed from the dust.

Sam and Tommy arrived next, and Sam took a picture of the big mural on the wall.

It was worn out from centuries of age, but it depicted two Native-American looking figures facing each other.

There was a rectangular hole in the mural, with two characters of the same writing they found in Mexico.

"Ix Chel and Chak Chel... The twins come together," Owen read.

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sam asked.

"I don't know," Lara replied as she walked up to the mural and felt around for some sort of hidden button.

Then, she knocked on it, and pressed her ear against it, before stepping back.

"What is it?" Tommy asked.

Lara got out one of her pickaxes and broke off a piece of the mural!

"Ah, Lara-!" Jonah complained.

"What?" she turned to him.

"Abby said not to break anything," he reminded her.

"I'm not breaking it," she told him. "I'm restoring the original." She broke off more along where the markings were, revealing a hidden passage. "Someone was trying to hide it."

More markings were revealed as well.

"The twins come together before following the path of the living," Owen read.

"It's been tampered with," Jonah began, "Like that...thing in Mexico."

Sam took a few pictures, just in case.

"This must lead to the next clue," Lara said.

"Alright, get to cracking," Tommy told them. "We'll stay here and see if we can find anything else."

"Sounds good," Owen replied, then he and Lara squeezed through the big crack, while Tsume stayed with the others.

* * *

**Read and review, please!**


	6. Chapter 6: Path of the Living

**I hope you guys are reading my other current stories as well as this. Especially my new Modern Family story.**

**I don't own anything from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

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**Chapter 6: Path of the Living**

Soon, Owen and Lara made their way up a flight of stairs and saw a door with pictures of Ix Chel and Chak Chel.

They both pulled the door open, and it slid the rest of the way.

Inside, they found another door, also with pictures of the Ix Chel and Chak Chel.

"The Twins," Lara inquired. "Life and Death."

The door opened on its own, revealing another part of the jungle, and in the distance was a temple.

"Jonah, we found the temple!" Lara exclaimed into the radio.

"**Great!**" he replied.

But the celebration was ruined by an explosion in the distance, right in front of the temple!

"Fuck!" Owen cursed. "Trinity are already there, trying to blast their way in. We're on our way there."

They both jumped into the water below them, and swam onward.

Thankfully, they had their rebreathers so they didn't have to worry about drowning.

There was a bridge to the left, so they swam in that direction.

As they did, some trucks drove by on the bridge. Luckily, it was above the water, so Lara and Owen weren't spotted.

"**Forward Outpost, status report!**" Commander Rourke's voice said from the radio.

"**Operation: Lone Wolf underway, trucks en route,**" A soldier responded. "**What's the rush all of a sudden?**"

"**Doctor Dominguez is here in Peru!**" Rourke replied. "**Is that good enough for you?**"

"**Aye, Commander,**" The soldier said. "**Sorry, sir.**"

Lara and Owen kept on swimming, being sure to avoid a school of fish before they swam through an old wooden barricade and saw two men, standing near a raft.

"Those drones were unexpectedly heavy- and sharp," said one of the men. "Boat looks okay, though."

Another man walked over to them from the other side of the dock,  
"Glad you're here, we've got a fucking problem."

"The generator again?" One of the men sighed. "I'm on it."

One of them walked away, while the other stood at the edge, his back facing the couple.

Owen looked at Lara and nodded his head, causing her to nod back before she snuck up behind one of the men and quickly stabbed him with her pickaxe.

"He wants us to search underwater?" One of the men asked another.

"He wants us to search everywhere," The other man replied. "Obviously, we've been missing something this whole time."

"Okay, so are we getting scuba equipment or something?"

"Better; a bunch of underwater drones."

Owen and Lara went underwater and swam along the dock, making sure to come back up at a spot where they knew none of the men would see them.

When one of the men had his back turned, Lara grabbed him and pulled him under before she choked him to death underwater.

"The Commander will get things back on track," said one of the other men.

Owen grabbed another guy who had his back turned, and broke his neck underwater.

"Command, this is Dock Station," said one of the soldier. "Operation: Lone Wolf is underway; drones have been launched."

Lara and Owen swam back over to where the boat was, then climbed onto the dock.

Lara readied an arrow, then shot on of the last two men in the head.

Owen put a silencer on his Colt pistol, then shot the last guy in the head.

Once they made sure there was no one else, they climbed out.

"You think we got all of them?" asked Owen.

"Maybe," Lara replied.

They went around the rest of the dock, and up some steps till they found more jungle.

"**Hey guys,**" Sam's voice said from the radio. "**You still doing okay?**"

"Yes," Lara responded. "There's a Trinity base here."

"**Hey Jonah I-?**" Abby's voice called out from the radio. "**What happened here? I said don't break anything!**"

"**Uhh...Abby, I can explain,**" Jonah sounded like a man in the dog house. "**Get back to you guys later. Don't do anything crazy.**"

"Yeah, same to you," said Owen. "Well, Jonah's in trouble."

Lara giggled at that, "I saw the attracting chemistry between the two of them."

They sat at a previously set up campfire to rest a bit.

Owen also found a report on a nearby weapons crate,  
"Hey, this report's on you."

"What's it say?" she asked.

Owen read aloud,  
"The younger Croft is more active and less cerebral than her father was. Although intelligent, she is less focused on the meaning and history of the artifacts she seeks, and more prone to risk-taking. Recent reports stating her having no children or family has been disproven. After Siberia, she married her boyfriend, Owen Taylor, who has been by her side through almost everything. Croft is hard enough to deal with alone, but with Taylor; the two of them are practically unstoppable. After their honeymoon, Croft had a child, a girl. Taylor's family has accepted Croft as their own, and they allow her to continue her adventures, with Taylor by her side. Although she is impulsive or unpredictable at times, we believe her drive and the balance of her personality will make her easier to influence with the promise of greater challenge, and more likely to deliver results. Any information she might have that Richard Croft withheld from Trinity would simply be a bonus. We recommend her as a strong target for recruiting."

"As if I'd work for those piss-worms," said Lara.

"Some side notes here suggest killing me, and holding Amelia hostage to get to you," Owen mentioned. "Even suggests breaking your spirit through sexual assault."

Lara shuddered at that one.

"No thanks," she said. "One time was more than enough for me."

"And we won't let them touch Amelia," Owen added.

"Damn right we won't!" Lara agreed.

Owen smiled before he stood up.

"Come on," he said. "We've rested enough."

Up ahead was a truck, along with a fence and some lights, like someone had set-up shop.

"Any idea why we're sealing everything up?" A voice asked.

"Because Commander Rourke said to hold the perimeter, no one goes in or out," Another voice responded.

"I know that, smartass," said the first voice. "But do you know why?"

"That's above my pay grade," said the second voice. "When the recon team gets here, maybe they'll be able to tell us something."

Lara and Owen looked down at a puddle of mud before they looked at each other, then nodded before they smeared the mud over their faces for camouflage.

They climbed through a gap in the fence to another area where there was a tower overgrown with moss and other vegetation. There were some muddy walls, and some Trinity soldiers walking around.

"**Porvenir, this is Commander Rourke,**" the radio went off. "**Have you achieved lockdown?**"

Lara hid against a muddy wall, while Owen found another hiding spot.

"We're almost there," One of the men responded. "All access points are covered, and most of the barricades are finished."

"**Almost isn't good enough,**" Rourke barked. "**Secure the perimeter NOW, and make damn sure it's locked tight.**"

"Aye sir," The guy answered. "Sir, if I may ask...what's going on?"

"**Recon team is en route,**" said Rourke. "**Rourke out.**"

While one guy got close enough, Lara stabbed him with his pickaxe and sliced his neck, killing him in an instant, and she made sure to hide the body so as not to draw suspicion.

Then came the sound of Owen's silenced pistol, and Lara saw the guy around the corner fall to the ground.

Lara smiled and nodded her head at Owen, who gave her a thumbs-up.

They snuck around some structure that had been set up, finding two more guys.

They still hid so they wouldn't spot them.

"Shouldn't we send someone down to look for them?" One of the men asked.

"Rourke was explicit," The other man replied. "No search and rescue until the recon team gets here."

"But it's been almost an hour since last contact!"

"The Commander doesn't abandon his people. If he says wait topside, he's got a damn good reason."

Lara took aim with her bow, preparing to shoot one of them in the head.

Owen motioned for her to lower it, then he snuck up behind the two men. Knowing what he was up to, Lara followed after him.

Owen grabbed one of the guys from behind and snapped his neck. Before the other guy had enough time to retaliate, Lara tackled him and stabbed him.

"Nice," Owen smirked.

"I learned from the best," Lara said as she brushed some hair out of her face.

"Okay, the perimeter's locked down," Another voice said from up ahead.

"All we have to do is wait for the recon team."

Lara and Owen hid among some plants again as they moved towards the voice.

"Doesn't it seem a little weird to you?" Another voice asked. "There was a problem underground, but we're fortifying ourselves from a threat overland."

"Seems pretty standard," The first voice responded. "If something did go wrong, we should assume it could be anything."

Lara looked to Owen, waiting for the signal to attack.

He snuck past a log that was covered in moss, then snuck up on a guy who was by some weapons crates.

Luckily, he was out of sight from his two friends. Owen grabbed him, and stabbed him in the neck with his combat knife.

Before the other two could even notice what was happening, Lara shot one with her arrow, then ran up and stabbed the other in the back.

She and Owen rubbed off the mud camo as they walked over to the door the men were guarding.

"Hey guys, Commander Rourke is here in Peru," Owen said to his radio. "He ordered Trinity to lock down a dig site below an old oil well."

"**You gonna check it out?**" Tommy asked.

"Yeah, we'll see what they found," Lara answered. "Rourke was there in Cozumel when Dominguez took the Dagger, they must have figured out the next step to the Hidden City."

"**Damn...**" Tommy cursed. "**You need us to come down there?**"

"Thanks, but I think we got it," Owen told him as Lara pried open the metal door with her pickaxe.

It led to a platform over a long drop. Luckily, there was a rock wall directly across from them.

Lara jumped over first, then grappled down slowly, followed by Owen.

When they got there, all they found were dead bodies and pools of blood, scattered here and there.

"...There's been a bloodbath here," said Lara. "What happened?"

"No clue," Owen replied as kept moving.

There was blood smeared on the ground, and some supplies were on fire.

"Yikes," said Owen. "It's almost like it wasn't human."

They went down further, finding more equipment, and the oil drill.

Continuing on, ducking through small tunnels, and jumping over some fires; they came to a large chamber with a big statue head.

"...Oh, man," said Owen. "I think I know what this is."

"Guys, we made it inside the temple," Lara said to her radio, as she and Owen went down the steps.

"**I think we found something here, too,**" Jonah replied. "**Some numbers. I'm going to clear it off.**"

"We'll keep going on ahead," said Owen as he and Lara went on, being careful not to fall off the broken bridge.

There was a large tunnel with a big door ahead of them, with matching pillars on either side.

"The numbers on the pillars look like the first half of dates," Lara said. "Ix Chel on the left, Chak Chel on the right."

"So what does that mean?" asked Owen.

Lara used her pickaxe to turn the stone-wheel under the pillar on the left, which made it rotate.

She rotated it till it matched the symbol on another door that was to the left over the firepit.

Doing so caused a bridge to appear, allowing Owen and Lara to cross safely.

Well, one that was small and thin, that only one person could cross.

Owen balanced along it and went over to the door. There was gold stone block among a circle of dark brown ones on the door. Owen pushed it in, making the circle spin, and the door opened.

This time, the wall behind it showed a picture of Ix Chel and Chak Chel, facing each other with three rings behind Ix Chel and the date above the rings and another date above Chak Chel.

"Lara!" he called out. "Turn the pillar to the date, here!"

Lara nodded before she turned the pillar to match the symbol.

This made another bridge appear on the right, giving a way to that door.

Lara balanced over to it, then pushed the symbol on the door, making it open.

Owen went back over to the two pillars as Lara checked the dates.

The pillars had risen by one column, and he knew that the dates in the side rooms were the ones he had to set.

Once he set the date, Lara pushed on the golden plate and the door opened, this time showing another door behind it.

"Another door?" Lara asked. "There must be more to this." She then tried to push on this door's golden plate, but it didn't open, this time. "Damn, I should have known."

She ran back as the floor began to fall! She made it back over, just in time.  
"Too close!"

"I was about to tell you not to do that, because the pillars got more columns," Owen scolded.

"Well you should have spoken up!" Lara barked.

"You're always so eager!" Owen shot back in defense.

"Fine, I guess that's my fault, then," said Lara. "Now what?"

"Those rooms still tell us which dates to put in," Owen replied, turning the cranks again.  
"The one on the left is the same date three times, and the right one...goes here."

Lara then pushed on the gold plate, and the door opened.

"It worked!" she called out.

"The pillars have another column," Owen called back. "But, there's no clue for the next dates."

As Lara ran back to him, "Jonah, any progress?"

"**There's an incomplete date, and a depiction of Chak Chel,**" Jonah replied.

"We have two dates here," Owen said. "And Ix Chel...wait, the date on the left looks familiar."

"The photo from Cozumel!" Lara realized. "Maybe there's a clue..."

She took out the photo for her and Owen to inspect.

"There, that symbol means 'zero'," he said. "The last number on the left pillar is zero."

He turned the crank on the left pillar till the symbol was zero.

"Okay Jonah, we have the date Ix Chel," Lara said to her radio. "What's the final number for Chak Chel?"

"**A line across, with two dots on top of it,**" he answered. "**Seven, I think?**"

Lara turned the date for Chak Chel to seven, then went to open the door, which opened up to reveal another chamber.

"Thanks, Jonah," she said.

There was a large wall ahead of them, with a mural.

"Hey guys?" Owen asked to his radio.

"**Hey, it's Abby.**"

"Oh," Lara was a little surprised. "Hello Abby. We found a mural; it seems to depict some kind of journey."

"Entering a jaguar mouth...follows a serpent toward a sliver eye," Owen read. On the mural were these depictions, even silver embedded where the serpent's eye was.

"There it is, plain as day," said Lara.

"On the way, there's a spider...and an eagle that rises toward a temple," Owen continued as Lara took some pictures.

"**Okay, I don't know about most of that, but the jaguar mouth is back this way,**" Abby told them.

"...Really?" Lara asked, almost in disbelief.

"**Yeah,**" Abby said. "**Cat sculpture. Big teeth...oh, here! He's back!**"

Soon, Jonah came back on.

"**Lara! Owen!**" he called. "**You okay?**"

"Yeah, we're heading back," Owen replied.

"**Good!**" Tommy said. "**I think you're gonna like this.**"

They went left to a big hole and the wall and climbed through.

In the next chamber was another stele.

It looked like a statue with a monkey's skull and a golden plate in the middle.

After examining it, they went to the right, coming into a big chasm that led to a long jump into some water.

"Well, time to swim," Owen said, before diving down.

Lara put on her rebreather before she dived in with him.

Owen swam back up and signaled her to go back.

She knew something must be wrong, because he looked scared, and there weren't a lot of things that could scare Owen.

Once they reached the surface, Lara asked, "What's wrong, more eels?"

"Worse; piranhas," Owen replied, shakily.

"...Shit," Lara cursed. "So, what do we do now?"

"We take our time, use any kind of hiding spot we can find, and pray," He said. "Seriously, pray."

He put on his rebreather and dove under, followed by Lara.

They swam through a cave, using the seaweed below to hide from any piranhas they saw.

They came to a big opening where a lot of fish were swimming around, including piranhas.

Luckily, there were some sunken ruins to the left that they could swim through, which would take them past any piranhas.

As they were swimming, however, they found some piranhas circling around a pillar, so they hid in some more seaweed.

Once they were gone, the couple continued swimming through the ruins.

They hid from piranhas along the way, till they reached the other side of the big opening where the other fishes were.

From there, they swam up an underwater stairway, then up a couple chambers to the sunlight, which brought them to the surface and back to the jungle area.

They took off their rebreathers and climbed out of the water, Owen panting heavily.

"I...hate...piranhas," he said.

"I'm not a fan of them, either," Lara replied.

They swam till they got to shore and headed into the jungle.

"Hey!" A voice up ahead called out.

Lara and Owen hid, drawing their weapons.

"Jesus, don't do that!" Another voice responded.

"Sorry. Anybody else make it?"

"Fucked if I know."

As they moved along the trees, they heard one of the soldiers speaking on the radio.

"**Base Camp? This is Omicron Team! We've been ambushed! Come in!**"

"Ambushed...?" Lara whispered.

"Anything?" The other guy asked.

"Quiet! I need to hear."

Lara and Owen looked at each other before they nodded their heads, then split up while remaining in hiding.

Lara shot one with a rope arrow, then dropped from the branch, pulling him up.

As for Owen, he grabbed one guy, pulled him into the bushes, covered his mouth before he could scream, and stabbed him in the back.

A scream came from up ahead, making the last soldier draw his rifle and fire blindly.

"Where are you?!"

Lara shot him in the head with an arrow.

"They're afraid of something, but not us," Owen surmised.

"What could have attacked them?" Lara asked. "Jaguars?"

"Doubt it," Owen said.

They went further, coming across a single soldier in camo-gear, and a crashed Jeep.

"Dammit, lost my radio in the crash."

Lara and Owen stayed hidden in plants to avoid being seen.

They were about to sneak up the soldier...when suddenly, someone got the drop on him, first, jumping on him and killing him with some kind of sharp object.

"...What WAS that?!" Lara questioned, quietly.

Whatever killed the soldier disappeared, Owen crept over to the body.

There were multiple stab wounds, but not from a pickaxe. It almost looked like Spyke from X-Men had killed him; there were so many puncture holes, very close to one another.

"Look at this," Owen called Lara over.

Lara walked over, only to grimace in disgust.

"Poor bastard," she whispered. "What happened to him?"

"No idea, but let's not stick around waiting for that thing to come back," Owen whispered back.

They squeezed through a narrow gap to the next area.

"Stay back!" A soldier yelled, firing his assault rifle in fear at something.

"Hey, calm down!" said one of the men. "It's all right! Can you tell us what happened?!"

"All I saw...claws...teeth...!" the soldier answered. "They hit us...screaming!"

As they were talking, Lara used her arrows to pull one of the soldiers into a tree and hang him there.

"They hit us...just screaming...bones..."

"It's over, you're safe."

Owen snuck over to them, hiding in the plants. One of the soldiers began to walk away, so Owen grabbed him and snapped his neck, then jumped the second guy and stabbed him in the head.

"H-hey!" shouted one of the men that happened to see them, but before anyone could notice, Lara slit his throat with her pickaxe.

There was some kind of fort built out of scattered junk in the middle of the area, with a soldier wearing protective gear standing on top of it.

Owen snuck around it, climbed up behind the soldier and stabbed him with his knife.

"There's got to be some kind of rational explanation for what they saw," said one of the soldiers.

Lara jumped into a tree beside the fort, then shot a guy on the other side in the head with an arrow.

"Jungle creatures, I'll believe it when I see it," one of the soldiers scoffed.

Owen grabbed a bottle of alcohol, put a rag in it and lit it, making a Molotov Cocktail. He then threw it in between two soldiers, lighting them both on fire.

The soldiers screamed in pain as they burned to death, then the last soldier in the area trekked over to where Owen was hiding, to investigate. Owen stayed hidden in the plants, then grabbed the soldier and snapped his neck.

"Alright, we're clear," he whispered to Lara.

"**Arrival is imminent,**" A soldier said on the radio. "**Hangar in sight.**"

"**You men, form a perimeter-**"

Suddenly, they heard the sound of unearthly screaming and gunshots!

"...Maybe not," Owen said.

"Where'd it go?! Where'd it go?!"

"On your left!"

More gunshots rang out, along with some no-human growl!

"Open fire! Shoot 'em!"

"Base Camp, this is Alpha, these things are everywhere, we-"

There were a few more gunshots and growls, then it was silent.

"What the fuck...?" Owen whispered.

"...I almost don't want to know what that was," Lara whispered.

"Neither do I," Owen agreed.

They climbed over a wall to the other side, then trekked through some mud.

They found the area where the soldiers had been killed, there was blood practically everywhere!

"God...bodies everywhere," Lara muttered.

"Those creatures killed them, but why?" Owen wondered.

Lara talked to the others via her radio while Owen looted the dead soldiers for anything useful,  
"Guys, we saw something. Trinity is being...hunted...by some kind of...creature..."

"**What kind of creature?**" Sam asked fearfully.

"It made hissing sounds, and moved so fast," Lara responded.

"**Lara, that sounds like the legend of the Pishtaco,**" Abby said. "**Are you pulling our legs?**"

"No, I know what I saw," Lara answered.

"**Are you two safe?**" Jonah asked.

"Yeah, we're on our way back," Owen said.

With that, they proceeded to head back to the village.

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**Read and review, please!**


	7. Chapter 7: Trial of the Eagle

**Just to let everyone know; I plan on doing the Nightmare DLC!**

**I don't own anything from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

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**Chapter 7: Trial of the Eagle**

Once Lara and Owen made it back, they went back into the ruins, but Sam, Jonah, Tommy and Abby were gone.

"Guys?" Owen called.

"We're downstairs!" Tommy called back

They found the steps and went down them, luckily, there were lit lanterns along which way they were supposed to go.

Finally, they found a wall with a jaguar face painted on it, and the opening in the wall was its mouth. Everyone was waiting for them.

Upon seeing them, Tsume barked excitedly and ran up to them.

"Hey buddy," Owen petted him.

"He was getting awfully fidgety while you guys were gone," said Sam. "We were afraid he was gonna go off looking for you guys."

"We told you we'd be back, didn't we?" asked Lara as she scratched Tsume's neck, causing him to pant happily.

"Did you guys go in?" Owen asked.

"We wanted to wait for you," Tommy said. "What do you think we'll find?"

"The mural showed a series of trials," Lara answered, then walked into the opening.

Unfortunately, she triggered something that caused a bunch of spears to bar the opening! Now, the others couldn't get to her!

Owen tried to pull the spears out, but they wouldn't budge,  
"Fuck!"

"I may know another way around," Abby said.

"Okay, I'll go on ahead and meet you on the other side," Lara responded.

Owen reached through and held her hand, "You be careful."

"I will," Lara replied before she proceeded to head down the stairs, only to find a pool of water below. She put her rebreather in her mouth before she dived in and swam through the water, crawled up through a narrow crevice, and continued to swim out to the other side...but she soon saw a problem.

The water was infested with electric eels.

Just two, but that was enough to worry about. She couldn't let those things touch her no matter what.

She hid in some of the underwater grass as the eels swam past her, then she quickly swam forward.

She squeezed through a tight gap, then found the water's exit.

She soon came out to the surface and found herself in a chamber where there was a mural of a spider painted on the wall.

There were structures made from smooth and sharpened sticks all around the place.

"Guys, I've come out in some sort of cavern," Lara said to her radio. "There are signs that people have been here."

No response.

"Owen? Sam?" Still no answer.

"Damn," she whispered before she jumped onto the wall and began to climb along it.

As she made her way across, she jumped onto a calcified wall and began to climb up until she pulled herself over the edge.

"Jonah?" she asked. "Sam? Owen? Tommy? If you can hear me, I think I'm still on the path- at the spider trial. I'm going to get to the top."

Still no answer. Lara sighed as she pocketed her radio and continued to explore the caverns.

She crawled through some small tunnels made out of sticks, till she came to the top of one of the wooden structures, above the area she was just in.

There was a big spike one the ceiling with a calcified wall on it, so Lara jumped off the edge and threw her pickaxe attached to a rope and latched onto the spike, allowing her to swing across to the top of the mural wall with the spider on it.

Once she got to the other side, she grabbed the ledge, climbed up and walked through a tunnel, and soon entered a jungle, and as she looked up, she could see temple ruins up on a cliff, and she could make out what looked like a whirligig of some sort.

"Incredible...!" she whispered in awe. "Guys, I'm at the next trial- the eagle. It has something to do with the wind."

"**We're still tracking West,**" Owen responded. "**Heading downward now. There's an underground river.**"

"I'll meet up with you soon," Lara said. "Hopefully."

With that, she began to climb up the walls of the ruins and pulled herself up on a ledge, where she found a campfire waiting for her. She decided that this would be a good time to rest, so she sat down.

'What's at the end of these trials?' she thought. 'The Hidden City, but...what else...? I hope Owen and the others are all right... And Amelia...*sad sigh* I miss her so much...I want her back in my arms...'

After deciding that she had rested enough and took the time to upgrade her gear, Lara continued onward.

She jumped over to where the whirligig was and climbed up to get a better look.

"Still standing after centuries of earthquakes and storms..." Lara gasped a bit.

Plus, the whirligig was still moving.

Only now that she saw it up close, it was really a spinning tower with rotating spikes and moving parts that looked climbable.

She went down the walkway, climbed onto some loose wood and shimmied along to the other side, finding a spinning rock with a ladder carved into it, but it was sideways.

"Might be a ladder if it was the right way up," Lara figured.

There was more wooden platforms built into the walls, connected to the tower. Lara went across it, to the opposite wall, then jumped over to it, then climbed and shimmied along through a hold in the wall to the outside part of the wall.

Then she climbed up another rock wall and found a pole with sails attached, which caused the wind to spin it around. She looked towards another mechanism and saw that there were ropes tied to both of them.

"This looks promising," she whispered before she took out her bow and arrows, fired one with a rope attached, and then attached it to the smaller power. As it turned, the larger tower started to turn, as well.

Some other beams with sails began to go around, Lara grabbed onto one as it came around.

Then she climbed back over to the rotating wall with the ladder.

Once she was there, she climbed up it, then there was another rotating wall with a ladder, but it was the wrong way.

"Can't climb this yet," she told herself, before climbing further to another platform made out of logs.

She found some stone blocks with glyphs of some sort, and then she found another mechanism with sails.

"More sails..." she pondered before she walked across an old plank and climbed up a ladder. When she climbed up another, though, she had to avoid getting hit by one of the columns that was being turned. When she made it to the top, she gasped before she ducked into a hole, just as another passed by her.

"That was close..." she whispered in relief.

Back outside of the wall, she went down more wooden platforms, then found another rotating pole with sails on it.

Unfortunately, the hole in the wall that would've led back to the giant pole was blocked off.

To start with getting it unblocked, Lara used a rope arrow to pull apart some wood that was blocking something else off.

Then, she shot another rope arrow at some sort of wheel, which she pulled on to reveal a hidden door. However, she knew the door wouldn't stay open on its own, but luckily, she stuck another rope arrow into the wheel and attached it to a post, thus keeping the door open.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "This will hold."

Now that the tower was back in sight, she shot a rope arrow at the tower's mechanism and connected it to the rotating pole.

The tower began to rotate.

"Good, the ladder should turn now," Lara whispered.

Just like before, more beams with sails on them came around, so Lara jumped onto one as it came around.

As she hung on, she saw one of the rotating walls get torn apart by one of the spinning columns.

"Bollucks!" she cursed. "Got to find another way up..."

She knew she had to be quick, so she hurriedly crossed one of the beams, being careful to avoid the rolling columns, before she jumped onto the tower. However, she had to be careful about the rotating spikes above her.

The spikes were made from obsidian, which never dulled.

She shimmied along the tower to another beam, then made her way over to the wall, which had sections she could climb with her pickaxes.

After making her way across the rock wall, Lara pulled herself up over the ledge, then began to walk across another beam.

"One more climb..." she told herself as she got closer, then jumped, grabbing onto the tower as it was turning, then quickly climbed her way up, making sure to avoid the rotating spikes.

Eventually, she made it to the top, where she turned to see a giant bird statue above where she was supposed to go next.

"Huracan...face to face, in a temple built in your honor," she muttered.

As the beams continued to come around in slow rotation, she waited and balanced onto one so she could jump to another rock wall.

Then, she began to make her way over to the wooden ladder...and she could hear an ominous creak.

"Careful..." she whispered before she jumped onto it, only for it to start breaking apart! "Shit, shit!" It almost fell off, but Lara managed to hold on and climb onto it, but it started to break further until it couldn't hold on anymore. Thankfully, she managed to jump onto a ledge before it broke apart completely.

"Damn 'Nathan Break' curse!" she groaned/joked, then spoke to her radio. "Guys, I'm past the eagle trial. I must be close to the Hidden City."

She proceeded down a hallway filled with food, old relics and other things, then went down a dark dirt tunnel.

As she kept going, the tunnel started to get lighter until she reached a small pond, and the path continued on the other side. She jumped into the water and swam across before she climbed her way up to the ledge, then kept going.

There were more structures built out of wood, so she climbed onto them, swung from a wooden bar and managed to grab onto an old rope ladder that led up to the next tunnel.

She climbed up, then squeezed through a tight crevice and continued on.

Now back outside, she was at a large cliffside.

She could see some sort of ropes, dangling from the cliff above her...but what really got her was the amazing view of the jungle!

"Owen!" she called into her radio. "The view up here is amazing! The Hidden City must be near."

"**Lara, we've made it through,**" he responded. "**We're entering a cavern...**"

His voice was cut off by static.

"Owen?" No response. "Dammit."

She went over to where the ropes were dangling from the cliff above her, and it looked like she could grapple onto them.  
"Great, I've got to pull a 'Spider-Man' to pull this off."

That's when she got an idea. She looked down at her pickaxe, and then at some spare rope...and she grinned.

"Lara Croft, how do you do it?" she asked herself as she began to tie the rope to the handle of her pickaxe.

Taking a deep breath, she jumped and threw her grapple to latch onto the first hanging rope, swung toward the next one and jumped, grappling to that one, then again and again, till she jumped to a small foothold coming out of the cliffside.

She had barely made it, so once she climbed up, she told herself,  
"Got to be more careful."

She swung across on another rope, but before she could jump at another, the one in front of her fell apart!

"Shit!" she cursed, then she heard an ominous creaking...and it was coming from the rope she was dangling on. Realizing that time was of the essence, Lara quickly began to grapple her way across, but when she grabbed onto one rope and swung, that one came loose!

"Whoa!" she cried as she fell down, but luckily, she managed to grapple onto one more rope and swung across into a cavern!

Once she was safely back on the ground, she nearly collapsed in relief,  
"That was close..."

She went down the small cavern and came to a large drop into a lake.

She put on her rebreather, then she did a perfect swan dive into the lake.

Then she swam back up and climbed onto the next dry spot.

It led into more of the forest, but then she found the remains of an old village.

"Guys, I think I've found the Hidden city," she said to her radio. "I'm going to look for the Serpent with the Silver Eye."

As she made her way through the area, she heard the sound of someone struggling.

"Hello?" she called out.

No response.

As she made her way up some stairs, she saw a young boy, dressed in tribal Mayan clothing. He had his hair done up in a topknot and he also had on a headband. He had to be at least 12 years old.

As Lara noticed the snare around his leg, she calmly and slowly approached.

"It's okay," she said. "I can help you."

"Get back!" the boy shouted. "You don't belong here!"

"I know it hurts, but-" she began, only for an arrow to whiz past the two of them!

Lara looked in the direction the arrow had come from, and saw a man wearing some kind of green, tribal Mayan outfit with a strange mask, running at them with some kind of wooden weapon!

Lara drew her bow and fired an arrow at the man, but he dodged it. She drew another arrow and fired, this time, hitting him the heart!

Once he dropped to the ground, Lara went to get a closer look...and she saw that none of this tribal clothing looked relatively new. That's when she saw something that made her heart drop: his belt buckle had the Trinity insignia on it.

"Trinity..." she whispered before she turned to go and help the boy. She took out her knife and cut the snare off of his foot, freeing him.

"...Thank you," he said, but before Lara could say anything, three more men appeared, preparing to ambush them. Lara drew her bow, preparing to shoot...but somebody else already did it for her.

She looked up to the left, where she saw four men and a woman, all wearing tribal clothing.

The woman seemed like the one in charge, and one of the men was dressed similar to her, meaning he was probably her second.

The woman gave one look at Lara...before she and her group began to make their way down to her. The boy approached the woman, who calmly put her hand on his shoulder as if to ask if he was all right, which prompted him to nod his head in assurance.

She then looked at Lara before she approached her.

"Who are you?" she asked. "What's your purpose here?"

"I'm...a researcher," Lara answered, trying not to sound nervous. "Lara Croft."

The woman was silent for a moment, "They'll be back. We must find safety, bring her."

She turned and walked away, the man with blue body paint went behind Lara and put a small food sack over her head, obscuring her vision.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Scene Change_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After walking for some time, Lara had the sack removed from her head, and she saw the woman scolding the boy.

"You are not only my son, but you are also my heir," she said. "You must not court unnecessary danger. Had you not been there, would this woman have found us?"

The boy did not speak. Instead, he stared at the ground, ashamed of his actions.

"...I'm glad you're safe," the woman said as she put her hand on her son's shoulders, then she turned to Lara.

She walked over to a nearby fire to warm her hands, where Lara noticed the tattoos on her arms.

"If you're not with the Cult, how did you find this place?" she asked Lara.

"I followed a map from a temple," she answered. "I was expecting ruins, not you...or any of this. The Cult, why did they attack your son? I recognize their insignia; I know them as Trinity. I'm trying to stop them."

The woman turned to her, "Stop them from doing what?"

"They're looking for an artifact, a...some sort of box, connected to a moon goddess," Lara said.

"Why do YOU want it?" The woman asked. "To steal it? Sell it?"

"No," Lara responded. "I just can't let Trinity, the Cult, get to it first. They're too dangerous."

"Why?" the woman asked. "What have they done to you?"

"...They killed my father," Lara replied, sadly...and even though the woman seemed momentarily shook by that, she still looked like she didn't believe her.

"Can I show you something?" Lara reached for her pocket, making the two men on either side of her hold up their spears, but the woman motioned them to stand down.

Lara pulled a picture out of her pocket, then walked over to a mural on the wall; it was the Serpent with the Silver Eye, but no Silver Eye,, "Do you know what this is?"

"This is Paititi," The woman answered. "You're already here."

"Paititi...the hidden city," Lara whispered, a little shocked. "But what's this eye?"

"That is a place of death and sacrifice," The woman said. "And you think your artifact is there?"

"Yes," Lara answered.

"...None who has gone have ever returned," the woman warned.

"I'm willing to try," Lara said, confidently.

"...You would risk it, simply to stop the Cult?" asked the woman.

"Yes," Lara answered, prompting the woman to turn around.

"Bring them in," she ordered, and soon after, a man soon walked in...with Owen, Tsume, Jonah, Tommy, and Sam following!

"Guys!" Lara ran over and hugged Owen, who hugged back.

"You okay?" he asked, and she nodded in response.

"You know them?" The woman asked.

"My husband and my friends," Lara answered.

"Including the wolf?" The woman questioned, all of her men being extra guarded with Tsume.

"Yes, he saved me and my husband countless times when we first met him," Lara said. That's when she noticed someone was missing.  
"Where's Abby?"

"She's fine," Jonah answered.

"Who else is looking for you?" asked the woman.

"There's no one else," Lara answered.

"I believe we are seeking the same thing," The woman said. "We will bring you to the Serpent with the Silver Eye, but your friends will stay here. You won't get very far if you're lying, and they will not be comfortable."

"You don't need to do that," Lara protested. "My husband and I work best when we're together."

"Yeah, wherever Lara goes, I go with her," Owen said as he walked up and put his hand on her shoulder.

The woman sighed, "Very well." Then she turned to her son. "Etzli, get this woman some clothes." He nodded and left, then she addressed her second, "Uchu, keep them company."

"We'll be back as soon as we can," Owen told the group.

"Alright," Jonah replied.

Sam gave Lara a hug, "You two be careful."

"We will," she told her, then petted Tsume, who whined. "I know, we wish you could come, too. But I need you to stay here and behave, okay?"

Tsume sat down in obedience and wagged his tail, causing Owen to smile.

"Good boy," he praised. "We'll be back."

The two walked off, leaving the others with Uchu.

Tommy looked around, "Nice place."

"Quiet," Uchu commanded.

* * *

**They're now in Paititi!**

**Read and review, please!**


	8. Chapter 8: The Hidden City

**Sorry everyone for the long wait. A lot of things happening in my life.**

**I don't anything from Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 8: The Hidden City**

The woman led Lara and Owen to a room with a large cloth for a door covering,  
"We've prepared some clothes for you, Lara. Once you've finished changing, come find me."

Lara nodded before she went to get changed.

Waiting a minute, and making sure no one was watching him; Owen slipped into the room, just as Lara got off her top.

She had on a black bra underneath, with a sexy lace.

"...Whoa..." whispered Owen as he swallowed the lump in his throat, causing Lara to glance back at him and smirk.

"Like what you see?" she asked.

"I guess you noticed what I was eyeing when I caught you looking at Victoria's Secret," he replied.

Lara laughed at that while Owen walked up to her and kissed the back of her neck, causing her to gasp.

"Owen!" she exclaimed.

"What?" he whispered, playing innocent.

"You know what," Lara said. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" Owen asked before he got closer. "You mean this?" He kissed the back of her neck again, causing her to bite her neck. "Or this?" He gently blew in her ear.

She turned around to face him,  
"As much as I want to continue, we ARE guests here, so..."

Owen sighed, "Sometimes I hate it when you're right."

"But later, I promise," she said, pressing her breasts against his chest.

"You owe me," Owen said as he playfully tapped her nose.

She giggled before she went to finish changing.

She examined what she'd been given; it was a blue and gold Paititian tunic.

It was blue with yellow zigzagged stripes that went across horizontally, and it reached down all the way to her ankles. There was also a dark blue cloth wrapped around her chest. It was a bit different from her usual clothing: a bit more modest-looking than what she was normally used to.

There was also a necklace, with bronze/gold medallions clumped together, a gold bracelet and some sandals.

Owen whistled, impressed.

"You look like a Mayan warrior," he said.

"I thought the same thing," Lara replied.

The two of them left the room to meet up with the woman and her son, who led them outside to their village, Paititi.

It was very large.

There were houses everywhere, built along the hills.

"This is incredible," Lara gasped.

"Forget village," said Owen. "This place is big enough to be a freakin' city!"

"Welcome to Paititi," The woman said.

"I...we don't know your name," Lara stammered.

"I apologize," The woman said. "As the rebel leader, I have to be careful. I am the rightful Queen, Unuratu."

"Uh...did you say 'Queen'?" asked Owen.

"That's right," Unuratu answered. "Is that a problem?"

"Oh, no, no, of course not!" Owen defended. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

Unuratu then looked to her son. "Etzli, you still owe me a status report."

"Yes, Mother," the boy, Etzli, answered. "There was one thing, this morning. I saw Hakan debating with his neighbor, he seemed angry. As I came near, they suddenly stopped talking. Then they started laughing, as if one had told a joke."

"He's planning something," Unuratu muttered. "Good work."

"Thank you, Mother!" Etzli replied before he stopped to a man who was picking some plants. "Hey."

"Hi," the man answered while Lara, Owen, and Unuratu walked on without him.

"As you can see," Unuratu began, "Secrets don't stay secret for very long in Paititi. If you were to deviate from the plan..."

"You'd find out quickly," said Lara, just as Etzli caught up to them. "I see that."

As they walked by one man, he looked to Unuratu and spoke to her in a different language.

"Hello, Your Majesty," he said in his native tongue. "Who are the newcomers?"

"They are here to help me find something I lost," said Unuratu.

"They are not spies from the Cult?" asked the man.

"You have nothing to worry about," Unuratu assured.

They walked by a couple women as they kept going down some stone steps.

"Was father a scout like me?" Etzli asked.

"He was a hunter," Unuratu answered.

"Was he ferocious?"

"He could be...but he was also very kind."

"That's what every good hunter should be," Owen said.

Lara smiled a bit, but then she frowned, thinking of Amelia back in the States. She really missed her, right now...but it was important to focus. After all, if Lara didn't do something soon, the whole world would be at stake.

They eventually reached a small bridge that connected the two parts of the village.

"Look around if you wish," Unuratu offered. "I will be in the market across the river when you're ready to find the Box of Ix Chel."

Etzli and Owen took a moment to pet a llama, which nuzzled them both.

"Hey there, Cualli!" said Etzli.

"I hope he doesn't spit on me," said Owen.

"How can you tell if a lama likes you? You can't," Lara joked.

Owen laughed, "You remembered that from AFV!"

Etzli and Owen took a moment to pet a llama, which nuzzled them both.

Lara chuckled as she kept walking with Unuratu. Owen followed as well.

They made their way through the marketplace as they followed.

"Wow, beautiful," Lara said.

"The market has everything!" Etzli exclaimed with pride.

"Etzli, I'm sure they've seen many markets before," Unuratu told him.

"Outside?"

"Yes."

"But, ours is the best."

The couple chuckled at that.

"We're not far now," said Unuratu as they approached a crowd of villagers.

"Hakan!" Etzli exclaimed excitedly as he got closer.

"What is this?" Owen asked.

"Cultists, waiting for their "deity" to appear," Unuratu answered. "When the catastrophes come, the god Kukulkan must be sacrificed to power the sun. Otherwise, the world dies."

"Sacrifice a god?" Lara asked incredulously.

"The sacrifice is my duty," Unuratu added. "But this cult leader wants to take my place and attempt to become the god. He believes we can remake the world and live in a paradise of his design."

"...Remake the world..." whispered Lara.

"Lara...you don't think...?" Owen asked.

"Yes, I do," Lara answered.

"What is it?" Unuratu inquired.

"We've heard those words before," answered Lara.

"There he is!" Etzli said.

Four men came across a long stone bridge, carrying someone on a throne. He was wearing a tribal outfit with some feathers, and a tribal mask. However, on closer inspection, Lara and Owen recognized him.

"Wait, that's Doctor Dominguez," Owen said.

"Behold!" Dominguez exclaimed. "The instrument of our unity and salvation!" He held up the dagger. "Soon, our dreams of peace and safety will be realized!"

"...They already call him Kukulkan," Unuratu whispered to Lara and Owen, "But his real name is Amaru. He was born here but raised- lied to- by outsiders. The people believe in him..."

"But you don't?" Lara asked.

Unuratu shook her head, "My late husband, Sayri, was his brother. They had differences over the future of Paititi. When Sayri died, Amaru devoted himself to the Cult."

"Talk about not seeing things eye to eye..." Owen muttered while Dominguez, or rather Amaru, waved to the people.

"You have seen the storms," he addressed. "You are worried about worse to come."

One particular man in the crowd seemed to glare at him.

"I assure you that Paititi will persevere, and thrive, forever," Amaru continued while the crowd cheered.

"I know him well," Unuratu said. "If Amaru is successful, all of us who disagree will never see this "paradise". The rebels will be discarded."

"Not if they don't find the box," Owen said.

"Yes, our best hope is to find it first," Unuratu agreed. "Perhaps Amaru might still be brought to see love and reason."

"Death to the outsiders!" yelled one man in the crowd. "Retribution will come!"

"Hakan!" Unuratu called, harshly. "Enough."

"We must strike while the snake is within reach...!" Hakan whispered.

"Justice will be met in good time," Unuratu assured. "Do not jeopardize our rebellion for the sake of impulse."

Hakan looked like he understood, and walked away. But he stopped, pulled a knife and ran back toward the cultists, but Unuratu grabbed him and pinned him against the wall. One of the cultists noticed them, but paid no mind.

"Etzli, go scout ahead," Unuratu told her son. "We'll meet you at the edge of the mountain."

The boy nodded and left.

"Last warning," she told Hakan, who dropped the knife and walked off.

"Sheesh," Owen muttered. "You'd think people would learn to respect orders."

"Follow Etzli," Unuratu told them. "Your clothing won't hide you long from these guards."

"Hmm, I'm gonna need a disguise as well," Owen suggested.

"I have an idea," Lara pulled him along as she left.

Then, one of the cultists approached Unuratu,  
"You've been warned to keep the peace."

"I was just out for a pleasant stroll with my son," she replied.

"Hmph," the cultist scoffed. "Amaru is losing his patience."

"...It won't happen, again," Unuratu assured, but while she spoke with him, Lara and Owen slipped through the crowd.

"Jonah, can you answer?" asked Lara.

"**Yeah,**" Jonah answered. "**We set up camp with Uchu. Everything's okay.**"

"**What's going on your end?**" asked Sam.

"Dominguez is here," Owen said. "He's the leader of the Cult of Kukulkan, that's what Unuratu's rebels are fighting."

"**What?**" Sam gasped in shock.

"He's been here for years," Lara continued. "Trinity controls Paititi."

"**Fuck,**" Tommy cursed.

"We're going to the Eye of the Serpent," Lara told them. "We have to get the Box before the next cataclysm hits."

"**Well, good luck you guys,**" said Sam.

"How's Tsume doing, over there?" Owen asked.

"**Restless,**" Tommy answered. "**We're afraid if we take our eyes off him for even a second, he'll bolt off looking for you guys.**"

"Hang in there buddy," Owen said, hearing a whimper in response.

Soon, he put the radio away. "So, Lara...where should we start from?"

"We have to start somewhere," Lara said as she looked around.

"First, I need a disguise of my own," Owen snuck over to a hidden space where one of the cultists was standing guard.

Once he found a secluded spot, he called out with an accented voice,  
"Psst? I found that Croft woman."

The guard turned and walked over to where he heard the voice, only to find nothing.

Owen grabbed him from behind, covering his mouth and snapping his neck.

Then he dragged the body off into the bushes where he wouldn't be seen. After a while, he came back out, wearing the guard's armor.

"What do you think?" asked Owen.

"I can hardly recognize you," Lara quipped, causing them both to chuckle.

"Must be the face paint," he replied.

After a couple hours of exploring the village, and some nearby tombs, the couple went to find Etzli.

He was waiting at the entrance to what looked like a temple.

"Where's my mother?" he asked.

"She's settling matters between the guards and Hakan," Owen answered.

"What's it like, outside Paititi?" Etzli asked.

"Well..." Lara began. "A lot of things. It's a very big world."

"Bigger than Paititi?" asked Etzli.

"Kid, it's bigger than 100 Paititis," Owen answered.

"What?!" Etzli was shocked. "Will you take me there?"

"I think your mother might have something to say about that," Lara told him snidely.

"Yeah, and we don't really need to get on her bad side," Owen said.

"What you're looking for is in there," Etzli told them.

"How will we know when we've found the right chamber?" Lara asked.

"By the smell of death," Etzli replied. "If you survive, you can find your way back through the old irrigation system. I'll meet you there, but be careful; the Cult often patrols there."

"Oh, that's just what we needed..." Owen said. "Thanks for your help, Etzli."

Etzli nodded before he ran off.

The couple went over to the entrance and squeezed through the narrow gap that led inside.

The whole place was lit with the color orange, from the four fires.

"Man...I seriously feel like Indiana Jones, right now," Owen said.

There was a bit of jungle, then the next part of the temple, with more sunlight coming in.

They went left, through a corridor, coming to chasm.

Lara saw a pole sticking out of the rocks, then took a deep breath.

"All right..." she whispered before she soon ran and jumped across, grabbed onto the pole, then swung to the rock wall in front of her, using her pickaxes to climb down, then descended on a rope before swinging onto a cliff.

The way across the next chasm was to swing from two beams.

"Wow, we're gonna have to Spider-Man this," Owen lamented a bit.

Lara went first, swinging her grapple axes while being careful to avoid the spikes on the beams before she reached the other side.

"Your turn, Owen!" she called.

He did the same, more smoothly than she did.

They went up some steps and came to a small tunnel they could crouch through.

However, there was a VERY foul odor coming from that direction.

"Oh, jeez, you smell that?" Owen asked while holding his nose. "Smells worse than when Tsume got sprayed by that skunk that one time."

"Oh, bullocks," Lara muttered.

Still, they pushed through it and crouched into the next room, which led to where the smell was coming from.

They squeezed through a tight gap to the next chamber, where the smell was.

"The smell of death?" Owen muttered. "More like what the inside of a snake's belly smells like."

"I guess this is why it's called "The Belly of the Serpent"," said Lara.

The chamber was fairly dark, the walls were covered in dried up blood and who knows what else, and the reason for the smell; there were hundreds of freshly rotting corpses everywhere.

"Three years of this kind of thing, I might finally puke," Owen muttered, gagging a bit.

"Me, too..." Lara said as she covered her mouth, "But we can't lose our nerve, yet."

Soon, they began to make their way across a beam, but it began to break halfway.

"Whoa!" Owen cried.

"Steady," Lara said before she and Owen jumped off and grabbed onto a rock wall with their pickaxes.

They jumped up, grabbed the ledge and climbed up.

Lara fell against a corpse that was torn in half, was missing both arms, and it's mouth. She crawled away from it, coughing and trying not to throw up.

"Ugh...I feel like I'm in an episode of The Walking Dead," she said.

"Be grateful that these things aren't moving," said Owen.

They crouched along some bones and more bodies till they came to a beam.

They jumped from it, swinging from a hanging wooded bar, and clung to a rock wall with their pickaxes.

Then, using ropes, they rappelled down the wall, then swung across and grabbed onto a wooden cage. When they attempted to jump onto another, which had a dead man inside, dangling from the top by his wrists, the cage almost broke apart.

"Ah, dammit!" Lara cursed as crows began to fly around her.

Despite that, they managed to climb on top of it, then jumped to the next wall in front of them and climbed up it.

They then began to shimmy along the wall.

They knocked off a few skulls as they made their way across, then they looked up at a ledge.

"Ladies first," Owen said, causing Lara to nod as she used her grapple axe to jump onto the ledge, then began to pull herself up. As she did, though, Owen turned upon hearing voices.

"We're about to have company," he said.

"Hurry, Owen!" Lara called to him.

He jumped and grappled up to the ledge, then they both crouched under a narrow crevice, staying hidden as a cultist brought in another dead body.

"Ritualistic sacrifice," Lara whispered.

"Completely barbaric, no matter how or why someone does it," Owen whispered back.

The two continued to crawl through the tunnel, making sure not to be seen.

They climbed up a wall, then used their pickaxes to climb further.

They then jumped across, grabbing onto a ledge, but Lara almost slipped. Thankfully, she managed to keep her grip before they shimmied along the wall, then slowly lowered themselves down to the platform where the cultist had thrown the body off. They could see the trail of blood that had been left behind before they were soon hit by the smell of rotting flesh.

"Oh, god..." Owen groaned as he held his nose, again.

Up ahead, the door was closed, and there was no other way out.

Well, except for a dugout where the smell of rotting flesh was coming from.

What's worse, there were still rotting corpses spilling out. Lara wanted to gag so much, but she forced herself to swallow her vomit, then she glanced at Owen, who nodded at her. They both covered their mouths and crawled their way through, trying their hardest not to puke from the horrid stench.

It didn't help that the space seemed to get smaller as they kept going, but they eventually made it through.

There was a cultist cutting up another corpse on a stone bedding just ahead of them. Owen snuck up behind him and snapped his neck.

"Was this one of the rebels?" Lara wondered out loud.

"He must have been if he was getting cut up like this," Owen said as he looked at the vivisected body. "My god..."

"Normally, I would never use this term, but those cultists are savages," Lara growled.

"I don't blame you," Owen said as they soon moved on.

On the far wall to the right was the familiar drawing of a serpent, and it's eye was made of silver.

"A serpent with a silver eye, we're on the right track," Lara said.

Owen used his pickaxe to break apart the wall next to the drawing.

Once he made a big enough hole, he stepped back and gestured to it with mocking politeness.

"Ladies first," he said, causing Lara to chuckle a bit. He appreciated that she still had a sense of humor.

The moment they entered; however, they were hit even harder with the strong smell of rotting flesh.

"Ugh..." Owen gagged as he covered his mouth and nose.

"The smell keeps getting stronger," Lara noted.

"Yeah, I noticed," Owen said. "Jeez..."

Suddenly, they heard Jonah's voice on the radio.

"**Lara, how's it going?**" he asked.

"Owen and I found another Serpent with a Silver Eye," Lara answered. "We must be getting close. What about you guys?"

"**Talking tattoos with Uchu,**" he replied.

"Tattoos?" Owen repeated in question.

"**Yeah, you saw Unuratu's, right?**" Sam asked. "**It has a Heron and an Eclipse on it. It might have something to do with the Silver Box.**"

"I don't think so," Lara replied.

As she was speaking, she and Owen grappled across to a cliff on the other side, where they found a wooden barrier blocking their way.

"Got to be a way to burn that," said Lara as she looked around for anything she could use. That's when she noticed some sort of wooden beam on the other side of the room, and it was holding something.

"What is that?" Owen asked.

"Only one way to find out," Lara said as she fired a rope arrow from her bow, then pulled on the beam, which released a mixture of a peculiar fluid. "...Smells like oil..."

"Yeah," Owen said. "Oil and blood."

Then Lara noticed a stone torch in the middle of the room, and she saw that it was connected to the slide from which the bloody oil emerged. She walked up to the pedestal and moved the statue's mouth, allowing the oil to enter the back, and suddenly, it lit up, leaving a trail of fire before it burned the barrier away.

"Sanitary," Owen said with sarcasm.

"Would you have come up with a better idea?" asked Lara.

"Yeah," Owen said. "A flaming arrow."

"...Right," Lara muttered. "Why didn't I think of that one sooner?"

Owen shrugged, "Hey, whatever works."

They headed inside, jumped to another rock wall and grappled down, finding themselves in another large chamber.

"Is this some kind of blood-letting chamber?" Lara wondered out loud.

"There's another barrier, here, too," said Owen as they looked around, and Lara noticed a complex network of channels around two spires.

"It must've taken hundreds of sacrifices to get a lot of blood through these channels," she said.

"This almost reminds me of that chamber where they brought Grigori Rasputin back from hell in Hellboy," Owen said.

"Don't remind me of that, please," said Lara as she looked around and saw ropes around the spires, and there was a handle on one of them. Putting two and two, together, Lara fired a rope arrow and connected the spires together. "Owen, help me push."

"Sure," Owen replied before he and Lara turned to the spire on the left around, causing both spires to turn.

They turned them twice, cut the rope, then turned the one spire once more to create a path along the patterns to the barrier.

"Now for the sanitary part," Owen said.

"Lovely," Lara muttered with sarcasm before she shot an arrow at another mechanism, releasing a whole mess of oil and blood into a pool. Owen flipped the switch with the statue, setting the whole thing on fire, along with the channels.

It burned away the barrier, clearing the path ahead for them.

They went into the next chamber, seeing some kind of miniature of a city.

As the flames surrounded it, a pedestal rose up, revealing a silver statue of a snake that was coiled up.

"A serpent!" Lara exclaimed as she picked it up. "This must be what Trinity is missing."

"You think it's the actual box?" asked Owen.

"No, maybe it's some kind of key," Lara said.

"A key to the box itself?" Owen asked.

"Only way to know," Lara said as she put the Silver Serpent away.

Soon, they walked out of the chamber and found themselves standing in front of a canal of water. Realizing there was no other way out, Lara put her rebreather on and jumped in. Owen was about to follow, but not without glancing back at the model of the city, which was surrounded by flames.

"...I don't know why," Owen began, "But I got a nagging feeling..."

He then put on his rebreather and followed after Lara.

* * *

**Read and review, please!**


	9. Chapter 9: Eye of the Serpent

**Like I said, I'm not abandoning any of my stories. Some just might take longer to update. But never lose faith in me.**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Eye of the Serpent**

Lara fell down a small waterfall and into a fountain, finding herself back in the village.

Owen followed a couple seconds later, "Guess we didn't need the rebreathers."

As they looked up, Lara gasped upon seeing Etzli hiding behind a tree.

"Etzli!" she called, only for him to hold his hand out to her, then pointed forward, causing Lara and Owen to look around the corner and see a few cultists dressed like blue parrots.

"Oh, shit...!" Owen cursed as he and Lara hid.

Another cultist, dressed in green and blue, with an eagle on his headgear and spread feathers on the back, came up behind Etzli and kicked him!

"Here's the little rebel prince!"

"Etzli!" Lara ran out of cover to help him, but now the cultists saw her!

"Lara, wait!" Owen cried, but it was too late!

"Over there! Get her!" shouted one of the cultists as he began to throw spears at Lara, who barely managed to dodge them, and meanwhile, the one with the eagle headdress dragged Etzli away!

Owen gasped before he looked back and forth. On the hand, he didn't want to leave Lara alone, but on the other hand, he couldn't let Etzli get captured, either!

"Fuck...!" Owen cursed.

"Owen! Go help Etzli!" Lara called as she ran away. "I'll be fine!"

She ran down the street, dodging more spears, and narrowly avoiding running into a food cart that was being pushed.

While she ran, Owen went off to help Etzli.

"Please, be careful, Lara..." he whispered.

Back with Lara, she panted as she ran through crowds of people, who all screamed as they got out of her way to avoid the spears. At one point, Lara ran into somebody's house and accidentally bumped into a man before she kept running.

"Get out of the way!" she called out as she kept running, and her pursuers weren't far behind, yelling things in their native language as they threw more spears at Lara, even while she was climbing up a ladder.

She jumped and climbed scaffoldings, even as they started to collapse.

She dropped to the ground, but continued to run nonetheless. That's when she ran into this one hut where she ran into a man with a golden mask, who yelled something at her.

He was obviously some kind shaman/witch doctor, but she continued running as more cultists came in after her.

She ran through a couple more huts, but then one of the cultists tackled her from behind, causing them both to fall through a roof. Lara landed on the ground...but the cultist ended up hitting a rafter...and it didn't look like he was going to be waking up anytime soon.

Panting heavily, Lara grunted as she stood up and walked out, all casual so as not to draw attention to herself.

"**Hey Lara,**" Sam said via radio. "**If you can, head back, Uchu has something he wants to ask you. I think it's a favor.**"

"Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can," she responded.

"**Hey, are you all right?**" Tommy asked. "**You sound out of breath.**"

"...I'm fine," Lara said between pants.

"**Is Owen with you?**" asked Sam.

"...I'll explain later," Lara answered as she walked through the city, headed for Unuratu's home. All she could do was hope that she wouldn't get angry with her.

After a while, she managed to make it to Unuratu's hut, and she could that she was already talking to someone.

"Unuratu!" Lara called, causing the woman to turn and face her. "Etzli...he's been captured!"

"I know," Unuratu answered. "They're holding him at the barracks. We're working on a plan to release him."

"I tried to get to him, I'm sorry," Lara apologized. "Owen went after him, but I don't know where he is right now."

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Unuratu assured her, then noticed the silver snake key. "What's that?"

"Hm?" Lara looked at her side, then realized. "Oh..."

She got out the key and handed it to Unuratu.

Unuratu's eyes went wide as she inspected the idol.

"This is a key," she said. "It looks like...it looks like it belongs to the Mountain Temple." She then looked up at Lara. "It is adjacent to where they're holding him!" She furrowed her brow in thought. "Is the Box of Ix Chel connected to the barracks? Is that why the Cult occupy the Temple?"

Lara just listened, feeling a little anxious.

"It's heavily guarded," Unuratu said. "When we go in, it has to be subtle-silent."

"Is there a back way?" Lara asked.

"Th-There was one, by the salt mine," Unuratu answered. "But it has deteriorated. It's treacherous."

"I might be able to manage it," Lara assured her.

"Where is your husband?" asked Unuratu.

"He went to try and rescue Etzli," said Lara. "I don't know where he is, right now. He might've found them."

"You two did survive the Sacrificial Pit," Unuratu said. "I haven't been back inside since I was a child, but from what I can remember; the barracks are within an inner stronghold."

"If Owen and I can get in through the back way, we can clear a path and let you in," Lara said. "We will save Etzli, and then go find the box."

Unuratu handed her the key, "I'll take care of my son. You go after the box."

She then turned to leave, then saw Owen coming in, holding his left arm.

"Owen!" Lara exclaimed.

"Got grazed by a spear," said Owen. "Thank god for my disguise...but I couldn't get Etzli."

"He's a warrior, he'll be alright," Unuratu assured him, but he could tell she was worried.

"Let Sam and I take a look, then we can go," Lara said.

Unuratu left while the couple headed further inside.

Soon, they met up with Jonah, Tommy, Sam, and Tsume, who immediately ran up and tackled Lara and began licking her face, happy to see her again.

She laughed, "Hey!"

"Tsume, down!" Owen ordered, and soon, Tsume backed off.

"Owen, what happened to you?" asked Sam as she noticed his wound. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly," he replied, sitting down.

"We heard about Etzli's capture," Tommy said.

Sam handed Lara some medical supplies, then she got to work on Owen's cut.

As she worked on it, "Uchu, Jonah mentioned something about a favor?"

"Yes," Uchu nodded. "The day of Etzli's coronation is approaching. Soon he will be a man, and take his first steps towards becoming Paititi's future king."

"Oh, man," Owen said. "That's gonna be hard with him being captured and all."

"Still, sounds like a day to look forward to," Lara said.

"It's the hope for that day that keeps a lot of us fighting Amaru and his Cult," Uchu said.

"Sometimes, we all need a reminder of what we're fighting for," Tommy said.

"Is there something you need us to do?" Lara asked, finishing bandaging Owen's arm.

"When Etzli's father, Sayri, died," Uchu explained, "Unuratu bestowed the honor of surrogate father to me. One of my duties is to gather three sacred items for the ceremony, but..."

"But with all that's happening right now, you aren't able to," Owen finished. "What are these items?"

"They are the Savior's Amulet, the Champion's Bow and the King's Horn," Uchu said. "Each a blessing from the ancestors of the future king."

"Well, just tell us what you need and we'll see what we can do," said Owen.

"I already have men out retrieving the amulet and the bow," Uchu answered, "But if you could find Kabil, the instrument maker, and get the King's Horn from him, you would be doing us a great favor. However, he has been difficult, lately. I sent two men and both have failed. Perhaps you could...talk to his wife."

"I think we can manage that," said Lara.

"Be mindful, Kabil can be prickly sometimes," Uchu told them. "But Abra, his wife, has a way of dulling his edges."

Owen chuckled, "Women have that affect."

Lara playfully nudged him in the side while the others laughed.

"Tsume, come," Lara said, and the wolf soon followed her and Owen as they headed outside.

After a while, they approached a hut where they saw a young boy playing outside.

"Father! Father!" the boy called. "It's the Ixiki!"

Soon, a man with his hair in a ponytail and wearing an orange loincloth came out...and he didn't look the least bit pleased upon seeing Lara and Owen.

"What do you want?" he asked, crossing his arms. "We don't have time for Unuratu's rebellion right now."

"Are you Kabil?" Lara asked. "Uchu sent us for the King's-"

"The King's Horn?" He questioned. "A call to the future? Pfft! Look at the good that future's done for my present! Just go!"

"Hey, come on," said Owen. "We need a favor!"

"Forgive him," said the boy. "The Cult found out that my Dad was making the horn. They poisoned our crops as punishment." He then pointed to a woman lying on a mat, coughing and wincing in pain. "My Mom got sick and my brother, Cualli, went to get herbs...but he hasn't returned."

"That's terrible," Lara said. "Let Owen and me see if we can find your brother and get the herbs you need."

"Thank you," the boy said.

"Do you have something that belongs to your brother?" Owen asked. "Our wolf, Tsume, can track him by smell."

"Here," said the boy as he held out a necklace made of feathers and stones. "My brother would wear this."

Owen took the necklace and held it out to Tsume. "Tsume, can you track him?"

Tsume sniffed the necklace before he trotted off, following the smell.

Owen and Lara followed after him, trying to find Cualli. That's when he led them in front of a woman and sat down.

"Ah, Ixik," said the woman. "How can I help you?"

"We're looking for a boy named Cualli," Owen answered. "He's one of Kabil's sons."

The woman sighed, "That poor boy. Chimalli, one of Kukulkan's thugs, is holding him in a cell up at the market. Waiting for the Ahau to come and punish him."

"Dammit," cursed Owen.

"Thank you," Lara said.

"Be well, Ixik," said the woman, and soon, Lara and Owen headed to the marketplace.

They saw the guard, Chimalli, standing in front of a small, closed off area that wasn't much of a jail.

Inside it was a little boy, that Chimalli ordered to "shut up".

"An herb thief, hmm?" Lara mused. "Must be very dangerous."

"Today, it's theft," said Chimalli. "Tomorrow, it's murder."

"Quite quick to make that assumption, wouldn't you say?" asked Owen.

Tsume growled at Chimalli, but Owen quickly pulled him back.

"Really want to know what I think? I think we should round up all these little rats and drown them," Chimalli said. "Every one of them, especially Yamil. His father may be a Serpent Guard, but he is not."

"It sounds like we might have to talk to this Yamil," said Owen. "He has to be around here, somewhere."

Lara looked around before she saw a group of boys playing nearby.

So, she went over, "Hello there."

One of the boys turned to her, "Hey, you're Ixik, from the outside, right?"

"Yes," Lara replied, joyfully. "It's nice to meet you."

"Wow, neat!" The boy said. "I'm Yamil."

"Yamil, huh?" Owen asked. "So what kind of game are you and your buddies playing?"

"It's not a game," answered Yamil. "My Father is a Serpent Guard. I took his ceremonial knife to show my friends and Chimalli, the guard, saw. Chimalli knows what my Father would do if he found out I took the knife, so he threw it up there. Now it's stuck."

"Maybe we can get it back for you," Lara said.

"Wow, really?" asked Yamil. "Thank you!"

Soon, Lara climbed up the rocky cliff and located the knife, which she picked up before she climbed back down.

She then gave the knife to Yamil.

"Thank you, Ixik," His friend said.

"You're welcome," Lara responded.

"Wait..." Yamil said. "The grown-ups around here always chase us away, but you helped. What do you want?"

"Shh," His friend shushed him. "I'll do the talking. So, what do you want, Ixik?"

"We're trying to help Cualli," Lara told them.

"You're too late," said Yamil's friend. "He's been sentenced to death. We can't do anything."

"And Chimalli, the guard, hates you," added Yamil.

"Is that right?" Owen asked. "Is there a way that maybe you could...distract Chimalli for us?"

"How?" Yamil's friend asked.

"Would he chase you if you...provoked him?" Owen asked.

"Because if he's not at his post, we can get to Cualli," Lara told them.

"Yeah, I like it!" said Yamil's friend. "Oh! Tell Cualli to meet us at the cave. He'll know where it is. It'll be safe for him, there."

"We'll tell him," Owen replied. "Thanks, you guys."

"Let's go!" Yamil's friend called. "Asto, Raymi, with me. Samin, watch our backs. Then run to the cave! Stand back, Ixik, we'll give you an opening."

"Be careful," Lara told the children.

Yamil, and two of his friends went over to Chimalli,  
"Chimalli, you coward! You'll end your life as a slave! Come taste my blade!"

One of his friends laughed, "Yeah, and taste llama paddies, too!"

Another one of his friends picked up a rock and threw it at Chimalli, hitting him in the head!

"That should do it..." Owen whispered, and soon, Chimalli was chasing after the boys.

"Run! Run!" Yamil turned and ran, scattering in different directions, thus allowing Lara and Owen to go and help Cualli.

"They're only herbs," the boy said, his back turned to them. "I can work them off, I swear!"

"Hey, kid," said Owen. "It's okay. Chimalli's gone."

The boy turned to them, "Who are you?"

"People who want to help," Lara answered.

"...I never wanted this to happen," the boy said while he bowed his head. "I was just trying to help my Mother get well."

"We understand," Owen said. "We're parents, too, you know."

"Give me the herbs, we'll heal your mother," Lara told him. "Go, your friends are waiting for you at the cave."

"Thank you," the boy handed Lara the herbs and ran off.

Lara, Owen and Tsume headed back to Kabil's home.

"I thought I told you to go," Kabil said.

"Hey, be grateful, buddy," said Owen. "We got your son out of some serious trouble. He's safe with his friends, now. We brought the herbs your wife needed."

"Pah!" Kabil scoffed. "And did you come to heal her? Or to barter for the King's Horn?"

"Here," Lara offered the herbs to Kabil's wife. "These will help you feel better."

"Bless you, Ixik," said Kabil's wife before she glared at her husband. "Kabil, quit being an ass! Give her the horn!"

Kabil sighed and got the horn, "Here...with respect to the future king. Thank you, for all you've done."

Kabil's other son hugged Lara, "Thank you."

"No problem," said Owen. "And don't worry, your brother should be back home safely."

Soon, he, Lara, and Tsume headed back to Unuratu's hideout.

Once they got back...

"Last to leave and first to return," Uchu commented. "Your friends stories are true. Did Kabil give you any trouble?"

Lara chuckled, "You were right about his wife. She definitely has a way with his heart."

"Sounds like someone else I know," Owen smirked while playfully nudging Lara in the arm.

She blushed at that and smiled.

"Wait, what do you mean first to return?" Sam asked.

"The men I have retrieving the other two items... they both left three days ago," Uchu told them. "Neither have returned."

"Do you think something's happened to them?" Owen asked.

"It's Quenti that concerns me the most," said Uchu. "He's young, likes to take risks."

"Jumps in the water without checking to see how deep it is," Jonah quipped. "I know the type." He then eyed Lara, who sighed.

"Jonah," she muttered.

"He's kinda right, Lara," Sam said. "Just saying."

Uchu sighed, "I should've never sent Quenti to that damn place."

"What place?" Tommy asked.

"The old cistern," Uchu said. "It's where the remains of Manko are kept hidden from the cult."

"And Manko is...?" Owen asked.

"He was the farmer who led Sayri and Amaru's ancestors out of Cuzco to safety, centuries ago," Uchu answered. "He is known as the Peasant Savior. It's his amulet we need for the coronation."

"Why was Manko hidden away?" asked Lara.

"Manko's followers were known as the Order of the Peasant Savior," Uchu said. "This rebellion was born from it. When the Cult of Kukulkan first took power, they tried to wipe out the order. Manko was hidden away in a secret place and kept safe. But over time, as the order dwindled, the memory of that place has faded."

"If you want, we can go look for Quenti," Owen offered.

"You've done a lot, already," Uchu replied. "Bringing back the King's Horn was a big gesture of friendship."

"We don't mind, really," Lara assured. "Maybe Quenti can show me the best cliffs to jump off of."

"Please don't encourage him," Uchu said chuckling. "The entrance to the cistern is a cave above the White Tree. Follow the trail; it'll lead you to it."

"Thank you, Uchu," Owen said. "Let's get going, Lara."

They headed to the other side of the village, till they found the tree.

"Well, here's the tree," said Owen. "Where's the cave?"

Tsume barked as he soon spotted the cave entrance up above.

"Alright, head back to Jonah and the others, okay?" Lara told the wolf.

Tsume reluctantly did as asked.

"Shall we?" Lara asked.

"Ladies first, as always," Owen answered, and soon, he gave her a boost up, allowing her to climb up to the cave, and he followed after her.

The first thing they noticed when they entered was that there were spears coming out of the wall and a large pit in the floor.

"It looks like someone's already been here," said Lara.

"Just watch your step," Owen said as he looked around.

They jumped over the pit, and ducked under some more spears.

Lara then used her pickaxe to break open a brick wall.

After that, they slipped through, only to find darkness.

"...No one's been through here for centuries," said Lara. "I'll bet this is the right place."

"Careful," Owen said. "I don't think the traps here have been set off."

"I noticed," Lara said as she looked down and saw a tripwire, which she cut in half, causing spears to jut out of the wall.

They ducked under them, cut another wire which made more spears to pop out, so they ducked under those as well.

They made it into a more daylit chamber, then climbed up a small ledge.

They checked several other chambers, each hidden behind a golden door, before they finally found a much larger one on the other side of a wooden bridge.

"Manko's resting place!" Lara exclaimed before she and Owen attempted to cross, but then she stopped as she neared the bridge. "Wait...this looks suspicious."

"I'll go first," Owen said as he walked toward the bridge, but the moment he put one foot on it, it fell apart, and he fell with it! "Oh, shit! AAAAAAHH!"

"OWEN!" Lara cried, only to hear a loud splash.

"I'm alright, I'm al-RIGHT~!" he called, quoting Uncle Billy from "It's a Wonderful Life".

Lara chuckled before she soon dove in with him.

They went under, spotting a tunnel, so they swam inside it.

They found some bones scattered in the water, but chose to ignore them. As they emerged, Lara noticed some pictures on the wall before she went up to investigate.

"What is it, Lara?" Owen asked.

"This looks like...a Procession of the Dead," Lara answered as she put her hand over it. "It's the Order, hiding Manko from the Cult of Kukulkan."

"Hmm," Owen went further into the chamber, finding a switch. "I have a feeling this will make the place flood, so get ready."

Lara held up her rebreather, showing she was prepared. Soon, Owen pulled the switch, causing water to flood the chamber.

Owen put in his rebreather, then they swam for the exit.

The door almost closed on them, but they managed to get out before they both resurfaced.

"Hey, raising the water level gives us more access to places," Owen mentioned. "Just like in Zelda."

Lara chuckled. "Funny, but let's find the next chamber."

"Right," Owen nodded.

Luckily, the next chamber was right in front of them, so they swam to it.

Once inside, Lara inspected another mural,  
"This shows burial dolls, pottery and textiles being placed in here with the dead... This wasn't just a hiding place; the Order turned it into a crypt."

Owen then noticed another switch before he went up to it, then looked to Lara, who nodded her head.

They put in their rebreathers, he pulled the switch and the room filled with water.

They swam for the exit, as a door began to close on them! Fortunately, it stopped just before closing all the way.

They soon emerged from the water, again.

"That was close," Owen said. "You all right?"

"Yes," Lara answered.

They swam over to the next chamber, but this one seemed a little bigger.

That's when Lara found another mural, and a barricade with rope on it.

"What's this one say?" Owen asked.

"It looks like the Order left members behind as sentinels when they sealed the cistern," said Lara. "So...all those bones we saw...they sacrificed themselves to protect this place."

"Wow..." Owen trailed off.

The next part of the chamber was blocked off by wooden boards with ropes tied to them. Lara shot a rope arrow at it, then pulled it apart.

Soon, the chamber started to flood, again, forcing Lara and Owen to put on their rebreathers and dive underwater.

A door closed up the entrance, completely trapping them.

They found a space in the ceiling to swim up, then found a pile of rocks and wood.

They swam over and broke it apart with their pickaxes, revealing a tight gap to squeeze through.

Lara grunted as she squeezed her way through the gap, followed by Owen before they made their way up to the surface, where they climbed out and entered Manko's tomb.

"...Hello, Manko," Lara said before she opened up the stone coffin...revealing Manko's mummified body.

"Ugh...this doesn't get any less creepy," muttered Owen.

Lara grimaced as she reached into the coffin and got the amulet.

"Thank God it wasn't around his neck," Owen said, going over to a wall and breaking open with his pickaxe.

"Let's get this back to Uchu," Lara said before they headed back to the city.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_Scene Change_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Ah, Lara, Owen!" Uchu greeted them. "Quenti returned a short while ago. A little worse for wear, but alive. Glad to see you're okay as well."

"That cistern is quite a challenge..." Owen said in exasperation. "Good to know Quenti made it back."

"But without the Savior's Amulet, I'm afraid," Uchu lamented.

"You mean this Savior's Amulet?" Lara pulled it out and handed it to Uchu.

"What?" Uchu asked as he took it. "Lara! You and Owen found it! You're incredible!"

"We have our moments," Owen grinned as he put an arm around Lara.

"I can't thank you enough," Uchu said. "When Zan returns with the Champion's Bow, we will honor all the gatherers. Including you, if you'll come?"

"We'd be honored," Lara responded.

"Yeah, we can never say no to a party," Owen added.

Tsume barked while wagging his tail in agreement.

The couple turned to leave.

"Alright, let's head for the salt mine," Owen said.

"Right," Lara agreed as she soon headed out with him.

They made their way through the city, dodging passers on the way before they made it past the paddies and up to some stairs.

"Jonah, Sam, Tommy," said Lara, "I think we made it to the mine entrance."

"**Uchu says it's at the edge of the mountain,**" said Jonah. "**He sent a rebel ahead to open it.**"

"Thanks," Owen said, then he and Lara finished the climb up the steps.

They came to the entrance, up a climbable wall.

Soon, they entered the mountain temple.

"This is it," Lara said as they began to venture deeper within, climbing down a rock wall using a rope and making their way inside the inner chamber.

"We'll have to watch our backs here," said Owen.

"Mhm," Lara hummed in agreement.

She soon put down her pack and pulled out a gun, which she cocked the hammer of before putting it in her holster.

Soon, the two proceeded into the temple, keeping a lookout for enemies or anything suspicious.

They balanced on a beam over to the next ledge, then jumped to the next one.

They attempted to make a jump toward another ledge, but they both slipped.

"Shit...!" Lara cursed, but thankfully, Owen caught her while he grabbed onto a brick. Nearby, they could hear two men talking in their native tongue.

"Can you feel the change?" one of them asked. "It's all around...in the earth, the air...even the water tastes of it."

"Yes, the sun is dying," his comrade agreed. "Soon, this world shall be erased."

They climbed along till they could climb up the next ledge.

"We're in," Owen said quietly to his radio.

"**Unuratu just left with Hakan,**" Tommy responded. "**She'll be ready when you open the gate.**"

"Let's go," Lara whispered. "But quietly."

Owen nodded before the two snuck around the temple, trying to avoid being sighted by the Cultists. They were like a pair of jaguars, moving through the cavern, undetected as they tread lightly on their feet, skulking in the shadows.

They jumped to a wooden platform, which almost collapsed from their weight, then went down a zipline.

As they made it to the other side, they heard a voice up ahead, and they saw that it was one of the Cultists.

"If you can't learn to block, then you must learn to like the taste of blood," he said. "Now go and clean up."

As he walked away, Owen reached out from behind and grabbed him before pulling him into the shadows, then Lara slit his throat with her pickaxe.

They went up a small flight of steps, then saw two more Cultists in the next room.

"Did we learn anything from the boy we captured?"

"Not yet. He refuses to tell us where the rebels are hiding."

Lara grabbed an empty jar that was nearby, then turned it into a smoke bomb.

"His resolve is inspiring, but misplaced," said one of the Cultists. "Perhaps we can convince him that Kukulkan is the way."

"Perhaps...or not," answered the other, but then, Lara threw the smoke bomb, sending smoke everywhere and causing them to cough. That's when Lara ran up and stabbed one of them in the back while Owen ran up to the other and chopped his trachea.

They squeezed through a small gap, and heard some Cultists up ahead, practicing swordplay.

"This looks like the right place," Owen said before they made their way down the corridor and found two Cultists with their backs turned to them. Still, they hid behind a fallen pillar, just in case.

Owen peeked around the corner, seeing a more open area, Cultists everywhere, and the gate Unuratu mentioned.

"There's the gate we need to open," He whispered. "But this place is too crowded."

"How are we going to get rid of them all?" asked Lara.

"Hmm..." Owen hummed as he put his hand to his chin in thought. "A smoke bomb won't work. Doesn't give us enough cover."

"Then what should we do?" Lara asked.

Owen snuck over a patch of mud and covered himself with it, then hid against a wall.

To his left were two Cultists. He rolled a small grenade between them, and it released some green smoke! The two Cultists suffocated on the poison.

Lara grinned, getting the same idea. She slathered mud on her skin before she also found a hiding place, away from two other Cultists. She took aim and tossed the grenade, which released the noxious fumes on the Cultists, who soon suffocated.

Owen threw another grenade at two more Cultists, who were standing at a practice post, poisoning them as well.

"Is that all of them?" Lara asked as she looked around.

Owen looked around his corner and saw another.

He pulled out his pistol and shot the red barrel in front the Cultist, making it explode!

The Cultist screamed as he was burned alive before he collapsed.

This alerted one more Cultist, who ran over to investigate. Lara jumped from her hiding spot, tackled him to the ground and stabbed him in the head.

"Okay, I think that's the last of them," said Lara.

"Now we need to open that gate," Owen replied.

"There must be a mechanism around here, somewhere," said Lara as she looked around.

Owen went over to the gate, then climbed up a wooden scaffolding that took him to the top of the structure. And wouldn't you know it, there was a mechanism at the top.

"Lara, up here!" He called to his wife.

Lara climbed up the ladder to join her husband and found the large wheel at the top, and across, she could see the gate she. She nodded before she and Owen grabbed the wheel and began to turn it, together, causing the gate to open, but not all the way. Soon, Unuratu and three men came in, all armed with bows and arrows.

The couple hopped down to the other side of the gate as Unuratu, Uchu and the other two men entered.

As Lara approached the gate, she noticed a small hole...and that's when she remembered something: the silver serpent. She took the idol out of her pouch before she placed it in the hole, and turned it...and not long after, the gate opened.

Down below, Unuratu and Uchu had managed to find Etzli and were on their way out, being sure to keep a lookout for the Cultists.

Lara and Owen just went through the door, when...

"A RAIDER!"

"Oh, shit!" Owen cursed as he noticed a Cultist appear.

"Warriors! Watch out-" he started, only for him to get shot by an arrow.

Uchu got Etzli out while Unuratu shot another Cultist that was running towards her with a spear.

One arrow grazed her, making her fall to her knees!

"Unuratu!" Owen yelled.

"Mother!" Etzli cried in worry while Lara and Owen were about to come down and help.

"Uchu! Get him out of here!" Unuratu ordered to Uchu, who promptly grabbed Etzli, who looked at his mother one last time before he ran off with him.

Just as one of the Cultists was about to spear Unuratu, he was suddenly shot in the back with an arrow, which had been loosed by Lara, holding her bow.

"Us mothers have to stick together," she said.

She aimed another one, but Unuratu shook her head and mouthed "No".

Although they hated it, Lara and Owen nodded at her, then turned to leave.

Unuratu put down her bow as three Cultists surrounded her.

Begrudgingly, Lara and Owen ran through the gate...headed toward the outside.

* * *

**I'll try to update this more.**

**Read and review, please!**


	10. Chapter 10: Empty Handed

**Some fans think Lara was very one dimensional as a character in this game. Hopefully, Fang and I have given her more layers.**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 10: Empty Handed**

"I don't believe it," Owen whispered. "I don't fucking believe this!"

"Jonah! Sam! Tommy!" Lara called on the walkie-talkie.

"**How's Etzli?**" asked Jonah.

"He's fine, they got him out," Lara answered, "But...Unuratu's been captured."

"**What?!**" Sam questioned. "**Shit...are you guys okay?**"

"Yeah," Owen answered. "We're going after the Box. We don't know how long that'll take."

"**Do what you have to,**" Jonah replied.

"**You guys be careful,**" Tommy added.

"Thanks, we will," Owen said before he looked at Lara. "So where to, now?"

Just ahead of them was an area filled with rushing water, with some kind of wheel-shaped structure in the middle.

"There, the Eye of the Serpent," Lara pointed at the structure.

Owen jumped over to a rock-wall, and clung to it with his pickaxes.

Lara followed after him with her own pickaxes. After climbing across, they jumped toward a ledge, and at first, it looked like Lara was about to slip, but luckily, she managed to regain her grip.

They shimmied around the ledge till they came to another rock-wall, which they proceeded to climb down.

They swung from the rope, grabbed onto a pole jutting out of the wall, then jumped onto another rock face before they started climbing across it.

They grappled down to a big stationary rock that was directly in the water.

After using their grapple axes, they swung across on a tree branch to make it to the other side, then looked down toward a deep pit.

"Looks like the only way in," Lara said. "Ready, Owen?"

"As ready as I'm always eager to get you naked," Owen joked, smirking.

Lara laughed and playfully shoved him.

They jumped over to the rock-wall, grappled down a bit, then dropped down into the water below.

After putting on their rebreathers, they began to swim through the water.

They swam through a large entryway, to another chamber where they could immediately swim to the surface.

Once they got out, they climbed up and walked down a path, crawling under a log until they saw a ridge that was guided by ropes. They looked down and saw a huge structure, hidden beneath roaring waterfalls.

"Looks like there's a temple down there," said Lara.

"You think that's where the Box is?" asked Owen.

"Hopefully," she responded.

They went down a zipline, finding a campsite on the other side next to the next temple entryway.

They decided to take a moment to rest.

"I can't believe we got Unuratu captured," said Lara.

"We'll get her back, Lara," said Owen. "I'm certain of it."

"...What's Dominguez going to do with her?" asked Lara.

"I don't know," Owen answered, "But as long as he needs the Box, he may just keep her alive."

"I'm not risking her life on a 'may', Owen," Lara said. "She's a mother...Etzli needs her...just as Amelia needs me."

Owen smiled and put his hand on his wife's shoulder. She leaned against him, smiling.

After they had rested enough, it was time to get going.

They entered the temple entrance and climbed up another wall, finding some curved spears and old bones.

There were talismans, skulls and other spiritual items placed on the spears.

"Who made these things?" Lara wondered.

"Maybe those...creatures?" Owen suggested.

"It's definitely not Maya or Inca," Lara noted as she looked at another skull, then they kept going, following the path until they ended up at the edge of a cliff...looking down toward the spring below.

"...I bet we could make that," said Owen.

"Oh God..." Lara sighed.

"I'll see you down there," Owen told her, before jumping. "COWABUNGAAAAA!"

"Pfft...amateur," Lara scoffed in amusement before she did a swan dive.

They both emerged from the water after they landed, both laughing before they swam to the surface.

"WHOO, what a jump!" Owen cheered.

Lara chuckled as she swam to the bank then pulled herself out of the water.

"Hold on," Owen stopped her, pointing to another temple entrance.

"Oh," Lara said before she began to swim toward it while Owen followed. Soon, they were both inside the temple, but it was a bit dark.

They dove underwater, seeing a tunnel that went further in.

They put on their rebreathers and went toward it.

After swimming for a while, they emerged inside one of the temple chambers, where they found a mural.

"What's this one about?" Owen asked.

"Hmm..." Lara hummed as she looked at it. "They're carrying a sacred object into a great temple...the Box of Ix Chel. It has to be here."

A shadow quickly ran across the mural, making them quickly turn around, weapons drawn.

"What was that?" Lara questioned.

"The shape looked like one of those creatures," Owen said. "There must be more."

"...Let's get out of here," Lara said. "I almost don't want to stick around to find out what it is."

"If it's anything like Yamatai and back in Russia," Owen began, "Then I agree."

They jumped back in the water, swam some more and came out to the inside of a cave.

As they walked, Owen suddenly stopped and held out his arm in front of Lara, who stopped in her tracks. He got down on one knee before he cut a rope in half with his knife, causing spears to come jutting out of the wall.

"Nice catch," Lara said.

"One of the reasons I'm here," he replied.

They ducked under the spears and continued on.

That's when they looked up and saw some sort of altar in the distance.

"You think that's it up, there?" asked Owen.

"Must be," Lara replied.

But they noticed that there was something hanging from the altar.

"What is that?" Lara asked.

"...It almost looks like...a body," said Owen.

They climbed, jumped, and grappled their way over to the altar; spotting more of those creatures, and hearing their sounds along the way.

Once they made it to the altar, they got a closer look at the body that was hanging there. It was male, and wearing military gear.

"My god...!" Owen whispered in horror.

Lara cut it down, also making a shotgun fall to the ground.

She picked up the shotgun and checked its condition. It was a bit rusted, but it looked like it could still shoot.

"Hey, there's more," Owen motioned around the area.

There were more bodies of soldiers everywhere.

"These must be the soldiers who went missing," Lara realized.

"Shit...I almost don't wanna know what happened here," said Owen.

There was a wooden barrier blocking the way forward, so Lara destroyed it with her shotgun, then they squeezed through a tight gap.

They went left and found some kind of burrow made of sticks.

They crouched down and went inside of it.

As they crept through the tunnel...they spotted a shadowy figure on the wall, up ahead.

"What is that...?" Lara whispered as she went to take a closer look.

"Lara, wait," Owen called. "Maybe that's not a good-"

Suddenly, a creature burst out and jumped at Lara, who let out a scream before she crashed through the floor along with it!

"LARA!" Owen cried.

Lara landed in some kind of pit, filled with bones and smelled of gas.

The creature landed on top of her, but she quickly pushed it off and backed away.

She drew her shotgun just as the creature got to its feet and blasted it!

"Lara, are you okay down there?!" Owen asked.

"I'm all right!" Lara called back.

"Stay there! I'll be right down!" Owen answered.

More hisses echoed around the pit as more creatures appeared.

"Uh, you might want to hurry!" she told him.

Owen gasped before he threw down a rope and climbed down as fast as he could, and soon, he and Lara were standing back-to-back, both armed with their guns.

Another creature came through a hole in the wall, but Owen shot it in the head.

Another tried to jump at Lara, but she shot it with her shotgun.

Some more crawled out of a wooden ledge that was to the left.

Luckily, Owen got them, but when he tried to shoot another, his gun clicked.

"Shit!" he cursed, but luckily, Lara had him covered.

"I'll keep shooting!" she shouted as she shot another one of the creatures. "You reload!"

Another creature, armed with arrows appeared on a wooden ledge to the right.

Owen put away his pistol and drew his rifle, shooting at it before it had a chance to fire any arrows.

"Yep, I was right," said Owen. "Dammit, why is it that wherever we go, we're forced to fight zombies?!"

"I don't think these are zombies!" Lara exclaimed.

"True," he agreed. "They seem like some kind of tribe, but they act more savage."

After shooting a few more, several more tried to break through a barrier of logs to get to them.

Luckily, Owen noticed a cauldron next to them that had green smoke coming from it. So he shot it, making it explode, setting the creatures on fire!

"Yes!" Lara exclaimed as the creatures let out unearthly screams, then collapsed on the ground.

"Let's get out of here," Owen said.

Lara nodded before she and Owen headed off together, but still kept a sharp eye out.

They trudged through some water, littered with bones. As they did, more shadows ran by, directly above them.

"Oh, shit..." Owen cursed. "Hurry."

"I'm going as fast as I can, Owen," Lara replied before they entered a large chamber.

The water got deeper, so Lara dove under.

She saw a pile of rocks and wood blocking something, so she broke them apart with her pickaxe.

After that, they emerged from the water and walked up to another barrier, which Owen quickly took down with his pickaxe, next.

Lara connected a nearby crank and a wheel mechanism in the water with a rope-arrow.

Then, Lara began to turn the crank, which caused the wheel to turn, making an opening where Lara and Owen could swim through.

"There we go," said Lara as she and Owen jumped into the water and swam through the gap.

They swam through some underwater tunnels, then came back out to find a tunnel littered with some bones.

"Scattered ribcages and skulls at an entrance to a tunnel," Owen commented. "Always so inviting."

Nonetheless, they made their way through the tunnels, dodging the bones as they went.

Lara cut a trip wire, making spears spring out of the walls, which they ducked under.

Once they found the tunnel's exit, another creature dropped down in front of them, but Lara quickly blasted it with her shotgun.

"You know...I'm starting to hate this place," she said.

"Join the club," Owen replied.

They jumped to a cliff and started climbing along the walls.

Then they rappelled down on a rope and jumped onto a cliff. Owen almost slipped, but Lara was there to catch him by his wrist.

They went inside small cave, climbed down a rockwall, then rappelled down.

They then found themselves in a giant chamber with big stone steps and a door.

"What's behind that door?" Lara asked.

"Only one way to know," Owen answered before they both dropped down into the water below them.

As they swam toward the entrance, they saw another one of the creatures, screeching as it charged right at them. However, Lara saw it coming and fired her shotgun at a giant vial of green gas, setting the creature on fire. It screeched and writhed in agony before it collapsed on the ground, dead.

They went inside, past some dead soldiers and went to the right.

As soon as they turned, however, one of the creatures burst out from the wall from the left, taking them by surprise!

"HOLY SHIT!" Owen cursed as he and Lara ended up stumbling back, nearly falling down the stairs. Luckily, Lara managed to catch herself and shot the monster several times.

Another one came after them, but Owen shot it in the head.

"I'm really getting sick of these things!" he exclaimed.

"Join the club," Lara said while panting. "The sooner we get the Box, the sooner we can get out of here."

They spent the next hour or so climbing, shooting more creatures and moving some contraptions to get water to move some waterwheels to open the giant door.

Once it was open, they went up the stone steps and entered.

As they entered, they heard more creatures come up behind them, so they turned to them.

"Pa'tal," One of them rasped.

Lara and Owen faced them with somewhat apprehension as another creature came up behind the others and gently moved them to the side to face the couple.

This one was female, dressed in very little, like the rest of her kind, but quite ornately with strips of red fabric and jewelry made out of metal and bone. Her face was adorned with red and white face paint and her black hair was very ornately styled.

The most prominent feature about her appearance was that her upper lip had been removed, exposing her teeth. Her cheeks also had large scars resembling a Glasgow Smile.

Strangely, she and the rest of her kind didn't step beyond the doorway; she just stared at the couple with her intense green eyes before the giant door closed on them.

Lara and Owen felt relieved, but also confused...

"...Okay...that was weird," said Owen.

"They didn't enter..." Lara muttered.

"I wonder why, though," Owen replied. "You think...maybe they were waiting for us?"

Lara just shrugged and looked at the pictures on the walls,  
"These figures...they look like those creatures. But they're...graceful..."

"Yaaxil...Goddesses of Protection," Owen read an inscription on the wall.

"The Silver Box of Ix Chel was forged in paradise and brought to Earth," Lara continued as she read the mural, too. "Did those creatures make the Box?"

"Neither false gods nor zealots shall be allowed to pass..." Owen finished. "They were protecting it; that's why they attacked us so viciously."

Lara checked another mural, "Here they keep the Box, until the sun's renewal. ….Here, it has to be here!"

They went into the next chamber, which was more open, with the sun shining from the sky above it.

They also saw something covered in vines in front of them. Owen pulled the ivy away, revealing a picture depicting what looked like the sun being blocked out by the moon and a heron flying above.

"An eclipse...and a heron," said Owen. "Like Unuratu's tattoo."

Lara pushed away the rest of the ivy, revealing a spot where an artifact would be placed. But, it was barren...

"Where's the Box?" she questioned.

Suddenly, the temple began to shake!

"Oh, shit, it's a foreshock!" Owen cursed, and suddenly, the jade door collapsed behind them, revealing the tribal people behind it...and they didn't look happy.

The female leader opened her mouth, letting out a raspy screech, then the rest of her people ran in!

"Oh, shit, RUN!" Owen shouted, and that's exactly what he and Lara did!

They ran around the pedestal as rocks fell from the ceiling!

They also avoided the ancient warriors that attempted to attack them on the way, jumping across a gap using their grappling hooks and running as fast as they could!

Not having any time to shoot or fight them off, the couple focused only on getting away!

"WHOA!" Owen cried as he narrowly dodged getting grabbed. "Keep your hands to yourself!"

"Watch out!" Lara yelled as she pointed at a falling rock, which they both dodged!

They climbed up a ledge and ran around a bend before a part of the wooden floor was destroyed in front of them!

"Oh SHIT!" Lara exclaimed before she and Owen jumped over the gap!

"WHOOOOOOOOOAAAA!" Owen yelled.

They climbed up another ledge, just as the rest of the floor collapsed!

Some of the creatures jumped toward the ledge, but missed and fell!

"Come on!" Owen shouted as they kept running as fast as they could.

They began run up around a stone tower like structure, jumping from wooden platform to wooden platform.

As they kept running, the creatures fired arrows at them, which just barely grazed them and destroyed parts of the platforms they ran across!

"WHOA!" Lara cried as she almost slipped, but thankfully, she managed to regain her footing.

They ran around till they got to the top of the stone structure and jumped over a gap to a large opening that looked like the exit.

They just barely made it across, climbed up and rolled out of the way of the arrows still flying at them!

They landed in some water, put on their rebreathers and dove under.

Thankfully, the arrows missed them once they were submerged.

They swam for almost a minute, then came out in a cave.

"Whew!" Lara gasped in relief. "We made it."

"Yeah...too close for comfort," said Owen.

They began to climb up the rock wall, and jumped over to a cliff.

There, they found two dead bodies, crushed by fallen rocks. They had some extra climbing gear, even spike attachments for their feet so they could climb on ceilings.

"Perfect, we can use these to climb out of here," Owen said, pulling the spikes off one of the bodies. "Sorry mate."

Lara didn't seem fazed by it. She had practically gotten used to doing such things by now.

They slipped on the spikes, then started climbing again.

This time, they were able to climb along the ceiling.

"This almost feels weird," Lara said.

"Like Spider-Man?" Owen quipped.

"If it was like Spider-Man, we wouldn't need pick-axes," she quipped back.

"You know me," Owen said while he and Lara chuckled.

They climbed along further, then rappelled down and swung over to the next cliff.

"Made it," Lara said after catching her breath.

Soon, they began to climb up the cliff walls, using their spikes and pickaxes to keep themselves from falling. As they climbed higher up, the cliffs crumbled a bit, but they managed to climb up quickly before they began to leap across...that is, until they saw a huge gap on the other side.

"What do you think?" Owen asked.

"There's no choice," said Lara. "We have to jump."

And that's what she did, then grappled onto the next cliff and started climbing up the rope.

Once she was out of the way, Owen jumped over and grappled up.

Once they made it up, they began to crawl their way through a narrow crevice and entered a cavern.

They found a cliff to dive off of into some water.

They put on their rebreathers and dived down into the water.

Once they hit the water, they swam through the deep cavern before they reached a barrier, which Lara broke away with her pickaxe before they continued to swim onward. However, they made sure to hide in the seaweed to avoid getting spotted by the piranhas.

Once they were in the clear, they swam onward, toward a light at the end of the tunnel. _**(AN: Not THAT light!)**_

They came to a tight crevice to squeeze through, Lara went first, then Owen.

Once they were through, they began to swim upward until they emerged, and they found themselves near the Hidden City.

"We're back," Owen said while panting.

They were by the lake near the large white tree. They put their firearms in a sack and hurried back to where Sam and the others were.

As they crossed the bridge away from the marketplace...

"**Owen, Lara?**" Tommy's voice spoke from the radio. "**If you can hear this-**"

"We're here bro," Owen responded.

"**We're not at Unuratu's anymore,**" Sam said. "**We're in a cave nearby. The entrance is marked with a Heron and an Eclipse.**"

"On our way," Lara told her.

Soon, they made their way to the cave that Sam had told them about and squeezed their way inside, and as they entered and headed down the stairs, they found Jonah, Sam, Tommy, and Uchu looking at a map.

"Maybe they could provide support?" asked Jonah, and at that moment, Sam noticed Lara and Owen walk in.

"Lara!" Sam exclaimed as she ran up and hugged her.

"What happened?" asked Tommy. "Did you get the Box?"

"It was a trap," said Owen. "The Box was already gone...and Unuratu was captured."

"We heard," Jonah told them. "We're working on a plan."

Soon, the group took a look at the map.

"She's being held at the prison by the Old Temple," said Uchu. "Hakan led a raid and was taken, too."

"We'll charge the bridge that leads to the prison," said Jonah while Lara looked at the map.

"...It's aggressive," she said.

She pointed at a part of the map. "What if I climb up here, free her, and then signal to attack?"

"That could work," Sam replied. "Etzli's scouting the temple in the upper district. He could find you a way in."

"Going solo?" Owen asked his wife.

"Sorry, but it'll make it easier to sneak in," Lara apologized.

"I don't like it, but what can I do?" asked Owen.

She kissed his cheek.

"We'll have backup ready once you get her out," Tommy said.

"Sounds good," Lara nodded.

Uchu brought over a new outfit for Lara, "For strength and safety."

It was a green tunic and a serpent mask with many feathers.

"Thank you," Lara said as she went to change.

"Lara-" Jonah started, only for Lara to turn to him.

"I'll get her out," said Lara.

"...I know," Jonah answered.

"Be careful," Sam added as she hugged her.

Lara changed into the Serpent Guard Tunic, and headed off to the Old Temple.

* * *

**Read and review, please!**


	11. Chapter 11: Rescuing Unuratu

**Here's another! For those reading my Star Wars fic, check out the poll I just posted on my profile.**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 11: Rescuing Unuratu**

Lara made it to the area where the earlier protest had taken place and jogged past the two guards, who acted like they didn't even see her...and as she crossed the bridge, she saw the body of a dead man, his chest pierced with at least 3 arrows.

She saw more dead bodies as she approached the large stone door, which was partially open.

"I urge you to be wary, Ahau," The guard in front of the door told her. "We've broken the uprising, but they're still around. Alone, you're a target."

"I'm confident I can deal with any rebel I meet..." Lara replied, making sure to disguise her voice.

"Ha, well said!" The guard chuckled. "They can't stand against us! Although, they did fight like demons..."

"They fight for their survival," Lara reminded him.

Soon, she slipped inside the door...and she saw several more dead bodies of the rebels, causing her to sigh quietly. She realized that this must have been when Hakan attempted to lead an attack and rescue Unuratu.

'Brash, impatient fool!' she thought.

She had a feeling Hakan was impulsive when she first met him, but she didn't think he was this stupid.

'All these fallen soldiers...' she solemnly thought. 'Far more rebels than Cultists.'

She made her way up a bunch of steps, eventually coming to two Cultists talking about the rebels.

"...We easily defeated them," one of them said. "It was barely a fair fight."

"I agree, they were poorly equipped and badly trained," The other Cultists said. "They were over-matched."

Lara tried not to show it, but she was very angry at how they talked about the rebels so callously.

She squeezed past the Cultists and made her way through the temple.

As Lara made her way inside...imagine her horror: there were even more dead bodies of the rebels inside the temple. At least a dozen more...perhaps more than that, even.

But, there were some survivors, on their knees with their hands tied behind their backs.

As Lara went outside, she saw some of the Cultists standing over three rebels.

"We will never stand with him!" he shouted, only for one of the Cultists to stab him with his spear.

Lara wanted to do something, but knew she couldn't.

She turned to the right and headed up a long flight of steps till she came to another market area in the temple.

And Etzli was hiding against a column, peeking around the corner.

"Lara," he said as he noticed her. "Your Serpent Guard disguise is good!"

"Thank you," Lara replied. "Where is your mother?"

"In there," Etzli answered as he looked to the entrance. "I discovered the passphrase for the prison where they're holding my Mother: 'Innocent eyes blink at dawn when weakness falls away'."

"Understood," Lara nodded. "We'll get her out, Etzli."

"There's one more thing," Etzli added. "Hakan has been captured..."

"I heard," Lara replied.

"He's my friend Kayara's father," Etzli told her. "If he's sacrificed, I..."

"I'll see what I can do," Lara assured him.

Soon, she made her way into the marketplace, where she saw several people tied up. When she went around another corner, she saw a little girl, crying in front of a door and being chased away by two guards.

"Papa!" she cried. "Papa, please don't leave me!"

"You, girl!" shouted one of the guards. "Get away from that door!"

"Papa, I love you!" cried the girl.

"Quiet!" the guard shouted. "Your rebel father will die for his crimes!"

'That must be Kayara,' Lara thought. 'Which means Hakan is in that cell. I've got to find a way to get him out.'

Kayara ran away, crying, and Lara's heart immediately went out to her.

She went over to the girl, who wiped her face and tried to stop crying,  
"I'm sorry. Ahau, please don't hurt me. I only wanted to say goodbye to my father."

Lara knelt down to her, "I'm not going to hurt you Kayara. I'm with the rebellion."

She quickly lifted up her mask to briefly show her face, then put it back on.

"...Will you please help my Papa?" asked Kayara. "Please, oh, please!"

"I will," Lara said. "I promise I will. But first, I need you to tell me what happened."

"My father blames Kukulkan for mother's death," Kayara explained. "I told him that nothing would bring her back, but he didn't listen."

Lara knew what that was like; her father was the same way after her mother died.

Kayara made sure no one was looking and whispered to Lara,  
"There are other rebels here in the square. They can help, but they're scared."

"I see," Lara said.

"Maybe you could convince them," said Kayara.

"I'll do whatever I can, Kayara," said Lara. "I promise you...I won't let them take your father from you."

"...Thank you, Ahau," said Kayara.

"Call me Lara," Lara said with a friendly smile.

"Thank you, Lara," said Kayara before she gave Lara a hug, which she returned.

She then looked around the square, and saw a man crouched down beside a large cage made out of sticks.

She went over to him, and he looked a bit apprehensive,  
"Don't be alarmed, I'm a friend of Unuratu's. I'm trying to free the prisoner and I need your help."

"Of course," said the man, "But the guards will kill us if we get too close. Deal with them first, then I will do what you need."

Lara nodded before she headed to the cell where Hakan was being contained.

"I'm tired of listening to this rebel moan," said one of the guards. "Let's get on with the killing!"

"Does your taste for blood outweigh your delight in hearing a man suffer," The other guard asked.

"Always," The first guard responded.

"I'd like to see the prisoner," Lara said.

"With respect, Ahau, but he is to be executed on orders from Kukulkan himself," One of the guards told her. "And may I also suggest you leave the square, for your own safety."

Though Lara was angry, she tried not to show it. She didn't give up, though. Kayara was counting on her to free her father.

Soon, Lara walked away from the cell and approached another man nearby.

"I want to free the prisoner," she said, but not too loudly so the guards wouldn't hear. "I can't do it alone."

"You must be the Ixik Unuratu spoke of," said the man. "If you can make it safe, I will help open the door."

She then walked over to a man standing below someone wearing tribal shaman clothes who was ranting about something.

The man she hoped to speak to was holding a strange instrument,  
"Blessings Ahau, are you enjoying the executions?"

"The executions?" Lara questioned. "Of course, but I need you to stop the prayers for now."

Though the man seemed confused, he nodded his head and blew the conch horn, causing a small crowd to gather.

She then went up some steps to a man on his knees before another instrument.

"Would you play your instruments for an envoy of the gods?" Lara asked him.

"We would be honored, Ahau," he replied.

Soon, the guards began to leave their posts, wondering what all the commotion was about: this was the chance Lara had been waiting for.

The two men saw the coast was clear, so they snuck over to the opposite sides of the door and turned the switches.

The large, circular stone door opened, so Lara went in.

There was Hakan, handcuffed to the wall.

"What do you want, priest?" Hakan asked, bitterly.

"Shh..." Lara shushed as she went over to him. "Don't worry. I'm a friend."

"I don't have any friends that look like you," Hakan scoffed.

Lara untied his hands, "Trust me, I'm a wolf in sheep's clothing. Your daughter's waiting, can you walk?"

"Papa!"

Lara and Hakan looked up to see Kayara...but before they could get to her, the door was suddenly sealed shut!

"Kayara!" cried Hakan. "Go somewhere safe! I will find you!"

"I'll find us a way out," Lara said before she looked around.

She soon saw part of the wall was weak, so she could pry it open with her pickaxe.

"Through here," said Lara as they squeezed through the hole, but then, Hakan suddenly ran on ahead of her.

"These are the old barracks!" he exclaimed before he kept running. "This way! Kayara! I am coming!"

"Wait! Hakan!" Lara called as she ran after him.

They ran down a couple flights of stairs and past some chambers.

When they entered one, they found that their only way out had been blocked off.

"If we work together, we can move this stone," said Lara as they both tried to pull the door open, and with some effort, it worked!

"Thank you, for showing me the way," Hakan said as he slipped through.

"You helped," she replied.

"Not that," said Hakan. "The way that's important...to my daughter."

"Well...I could never leave my daughter, either," said Lara.

"You...have a child?" Hakan asked, surprised.

"Yes," Lara replied. "Amelia. She's just a baby, but still..."

"I understand," Hakan said, then gave her something. "Here, this knife belonged to my wife. I was going to kill Kukulkan with it...but I have no use for it now."

"...Thank you, Hakan," said Lara as they walked up some stairs.

"Papa!"

Hakan gasped as he saw Kayara running toward him.

"Oh, Kayara!" he exclaimed as he happily embraced his daughter, who sobbed in his shoulder.

"I thought I was never going to see you again, papa," Kayara cried.

"I am so sorry, my sweet child," said Hakan as he looked Kayara in the eye. "Let me look at you...I promise, I will never leave you again. Let's go home."

Kayara nodded her head before she and her father, but not before Hakan turned to Lara and gave her one last nod of gratitude, causing her to smile and nod back.

"Be careful on the way!" she called.

"Whew, that was fulfilling," Owen said.

Lara gasped as she turned to see her husband.

"How long were you there?" she asked.

"I came over when Kayara ran over to Hakan," he replied. "You must've been out of it if you didn't notice."

"...Sorry," Lara said. "I guess I was too caught up in the moment."

"I don't blame you," Owen grinned.

They headed over to the staircase Etzli had pointed out.

The two guards stopped them as they approached, "Only the exalted and knowing may enter this sacred ground."

"Innocent eyes will blink at dawn, when weakness falls away," Lara recited the passphrase.

"You may enter," said one of the guards, allowing Lara and Owen to walk down the stairs, squeeze past the door, walk down a corridor and enter a different chamber...where they heard Unuratu and Dominguez talking.

"How long are you going to maintain this charade of a rebellion?" asked Dominguez.

"Until we succeed and you are no longer a threat," Unuratu answered.

"Stay low..." Owen whispered as they quickly hid behind the wall.

"And you say this to my face?" Dominguez questioned in anger.

"You know I am honest," Unuratu replied. "And time was, we were on the same side."

"I have allowed you to continue for too long," Dominguez said. "But no more, Unuratu."

"Or what?" Unuratu questioned in defiance.

"I could end your treason, right now," said Dominguez. "Give me one reason I shouldn't kill you on the spot!"

"Just one?" asked Unuratu, causing Dominguez to snarl in anger, while Lara and Owen peeked around the corner. "Amaru, remember who you are!"

"I am one of you," Dominguez/Amaru said.

"Yeah?" Unuratu questioned. "Is that why you had me arrested?"

Amaru sighed, "If my brother was alive- rest his soul-"

"Yeah, he would think this bickering is a waste of time," Unuratu interrupted. "Come home."

Amaru scoffed. "I am home." He then gestured to the whole. "THIS is home! Unuratu, dream for just a moment how Paititi will prosper when dawn comes from a world without threats coming from the outside!"

"Aren't you such a threat?!" Unuratu questioned. "'Remake the world'?! We all create destiny...together! As we are!"

"Everything I've ever done has been for Paititi," Amaru said. "Everything! When it was divided, I unified it! I am the only one who sees the real threat here."

"You come and go as if your life here is optional," Unuratu argued.

"I have lived in the outside world and I've seen what's to come!" Amaru rebuffed. "Every day, it encroaches. Paititi will not survive its invasion! Everything we are will either be taken or destroyed!"

"Well then we must fight for it together, according to the will of its people," Unuratu said.

"By restoring the sun?" Amaru questioned. "Hmm? That will only ensure Paititi's safety for a moment. But it doesn't protect us from discovery, invasion. Our destiny is to be doomed? NO! No, we must be bold, decisive. Act with me. I need your intelligence, your resilience in my world."

Unuratu glared at him and shook her head, disappointed,  
"A world ruled by the Cult of Kukulkan, or should I say, "Trinity"?"

"...If it's control you want, you can have it," said Amaru. "Just help me now, ensure Paititi's safety, and then...by all means, you can govern it as you wish. I will give you the throne. I will do it!"

Unuratu only continued to glare, bitter and defiant. She would not be swayed. Not now...not ever, "No. I will find the Box and restore the sun. May its light be your judge."

"Why do you think so little of me?" Amaru growled.

Unuratu didn't answer, instead continuing to glare in defiance.

"...Take her back to her cell," Amaru said to the guards nearby.

He started to walk away, but Unuratu stopped him,  
"You can send me back, but I will never betray our people."

"...No, you will just fail them," said Amaru as Unuratu was about to walk away. "The Box is gone."

Unuratu stopped in her tracks, shock momentarily etching her face before she turned to face Amaru.

"A missionary, Andres Lopez- he stole it four hundred years ago," he explained.

Unuratu couldn't believe it, "What?"

"You just wasted your life searching in the wrong place," Amaru told her, then he left.

Lara and Owen both gaped while a shocked Unuratu was taken away to her cell.

They waited till Amaru was gone and slowly followed after Unuratu.

Once they were out of sight from any Cultists, Owen said to his radio,  
"Guys, we know where she is. We're going in."

"**Okay, we're on our way,**" Tommy replied.

"**Did you feel that tremor from before?**" Jonah asked.

"Yeah, when we were in the cenote," said Lara. "It was a foreshock. The earthquake is coming soon. We have to hurry."

"And when we get Unuratu out," said Owen, "We'll all find the Box together."

They squeezed through the stone door and saw two guards standing in front of a rope bridge that led over a large rushing river.

They attempted to approach, but they were stopped.

"I'm sorry," said the guard. "No one may enter."

Reluctantly, they walked away.

"Well, now what do we do?" Owen whispered.

Lara looked around and spotted some walls they could climb,  
"We go the long way."

They ran over to the left and jumped over to a rockwall that they could use their pickaxes on.

As they started to make their way across, a wooden beam that held up some sort of altar crumbled, but they managed to rappel down and swing to another wall...but the moment they grabbed onto that one, it started crumbling from their weight.

"Oh, shit, move!" Owen cursed as they began to jump to another rock wall, this one being more stable than the other.

"That was close," Lara stated before they kept moving.

Below them were the rushing rapids, sure to swallow them if they made one false move. As they made their way through the rocks, Lara and Owen rappelled down above the river, then began to swing toward an embankment.

They jumped down and landed on a slanted rock.

They soon jumped and climbed onto a rocky spire, then jumped again toward the ruins of the temple, where they could hear some guards speaking.

"When do the sacrifices start?"

"Soon. Kukulcan will soon put the rebels in their place."

As Owen grabbed onto a ledge, Lara slipped because one crumbled, causing her to grab onto the window below her.

"What was that?"

"What?"

"I thought I heard something outside."

"Control your imagination."

Owen looked at her before he gestured her to keep moving.

She shimmied along the wall to the left, and climbed up a cliff.

She shot a rope arrow to a scaffold on the other side of the river and connected it to a post next to her.

Soon, she and Owen made their way across the river and to the other side of the ruins.

"Unuratu is in her cell," said one of the cultists.

"Good," said another. "I hope she dies in there!"

The couple swung off a bar to another ledge and started to climb up a rockwall.

As they reached the top, they used their grapple axes to jump onto the ceiling, then began to make their way across.

"**Lara? Owen? How's it going?**" asked Jonah.

"We've just crossed the river," Lara answered. "We're almost at the prison. There are guards everywhere."

"**We're heading towards the river, get back to you when we're there,**" Sam said.

"Okay," Lara responded.

She and Owen climbed up the rest of the way, got up the cliff and climbed up a wall with a window in it, which led into Unuratu's cell.

She was sitting in front of a bonfire, as if oblivious that Lara and Owen were there, even after they took off their masks.

"Psst...Unuratu...!" Lara whispered, trying to gesture her over to them, but she didn't budge.

"The box is not in Paititi..." she finally said, after a while.

"We know," Owen replied.

"I will be forced to join Amaru," Unuratu continued to lament. "Everything I've fought for since Sayri's death will be lost."

"We won't let that happen," said Lara. "Come on, let's go."

"We're out of time!" Unuratu argued. "Someone needs to find that box. If the sun is not recharged or the world remade, all of us will be destroyed!"

"We found another clue," Owen assured her.

"Maybe," Lara added, sitting next to her. "The tattoos on your arm- the Heron and the Eclipse. The same symbols were engraved on the altar where the Box was taken."

Unuratu looked at Lara in slight surprise, "What?"

"What do the symbols mean?" Owen asked.

Unuratu looked at the tattoo on her left arm: one that was red and had a flame design.

"This one shows my destiny," she said. "The Crimson Fire of Chak Chel." She then looked at the tattoo on her right arm, depicting a heron. "This one grounds my past. It symbolizes Sinchi Chiqa, the last true Emperor of Paititi. His tomb is in the upper district."

"Can you take us there?" Lara asked.

"They're all over that tomb," Unuratu told them. "If there's anything there, they would no doubt have found it already."

Lara shook her head, "Amaru doesn't have this clue. He doesn't know what to look for."

"That's right," said Owen. "We still have the upper hand."

Unuratu looked like she was contemplating before she looked at Lara,  
"It's going to be crawling with guards."

"We'll find a way around them," Owen said.

"It'll be dangerous," Unuratu told them.

"I'm sure," Lara said, smiling a bit.

Unuratu stood up, "Then there's no time to waste."

"That's the spirit," Owen grinned. "Come on, let's get a move on."

Soon, he and Lara put their masks back on.

* * *

**Read and review, please!**


	12. Chapter 12: Escape Gone Wrong

**Sorry for the long wait with this one, but you know I was working on Star Wars.**

**I don't own Tomb Raider. All OCs belong to me and Fang.**

* * *

**Chapter 12: Escape Gone Wrong**

"How is Etzli?" asked Unuratu.

"He's safe," Lara answered. "He helped me find you. He should be with Uchu now."

Lara looked around the cell while Owen broke through a weak wall with his pick-axes.

Soon, they squeezed their way out, and that's when Lara held up her radio.

"Jonah, Owen and I are with Unuratu," she said.

"**Oh, good,**" Jonah answered. "**Put her on. Etzli wants to talk to her.**"

"**Mother!**" The young prince's voice said. "**We're sending backup. Should I support Uchu use the distraction to seize territory?**"

"You're in charge while we're separated, Etzli," Unuratu responded. "Trust your instincts."

"The prisoner's escaped!" A guard called out. "Keep your eyes open."

"Shit," Owen cursed. "Of course, it wouldn't be that easy."

"Let's get moving," Lara replied. "Fast."

Soon, Unuratu used a rope to zipline her way across. Lara and Owen went down to a lower level and fired another rope arrow to the other side of the river, then began to make their away across, as well.

They grasped the edge of a large rock and climbed around it. A guard stood above the cliff, so Lara Grabbed him and threw him into the rushing river.

She climbed up, followed by Owen, and they saw Unuratu kill another guard on the cliff across from them.

Using their grapple axes, they managed to make it to the cliff, just as another guard appeared.

"In position!" he said, but then, Owen grabbed him and threw him off the cliff, too. However, he ended up getting spotted by another guard, who prepared to shoot at him with an arrow...but then, Unuratu came out of the bushes, bashed him in the knee, then grabbed his bow and knocked him out with it!

"Wow, you go girl," Owen said as he and Lara climbed up.

Unuratu smiled at the compliment and took an arrow from the guard's quiver, "Let's go."

They headed down some steps to a rope bridge, where one guard was waiting.

"I've got her!" He ran across the bridge to attack, but Unuratu shot him in the neck with her arrow and he fell off the bridge.

"Think that's the last of them?" Lara asked.

"For now," Unuratu said. "We should head to the Upper District."

"Lead the way," Owen said, then he and Lara followed her across the bridge.

Soon, they made their way inside the temple and approached a door marked with a golden sun. They tried to push the door open...but the moment it did, Unuratu slipped through, and there was the shout of a guard yelling "Intruder!" right before it closed!

"Unuratu!" cried Lara as she and Owen tried to get the door open, but it wouldn't budge! "Dammit!"

They heard the sound of struggling...and then there was silence.

"...Oh, no..." Lara whispered.

"Hold it," said Owen. "Let's not jump to conclusions yet."

Soon, the door opened...revealing Unuratu, now disguised as a guard.

She tossed Lara some kind of mechanism key, "Here, take this key."

"Wow," Owen whistled as he surveyed Unuratu's work. "Remind me to stay on your good side."

Unuratu chuckled before she walked toward some sort of monolith.

"Come," she said. "I want to show you something."

Lara and Owen soon followed and looked up at the monolith. It depicted a man placing the Dagger inside of the Box.

"The eclipse is coming," Unuratu began to explain. "Once it is here, the Box must be opened. The temptation of the Box is so powerful; it will pull me toward it and tempt me with a fantasy- an easy way to solve our problems. But it will only show me my strongest, most secret desires. I have prepared my whole life to resist it. Amaru has not yet seen the Box, but already it's power corrupts his mind. Paititi is its people, and can only survive by our will, together."

"So, if Amaru remakes Paititi his way, it's like he destroys it?" Lara asked.

"Yes," Unuratu answered. "We face many threats from the outside, but risk is a part of life. We must confront it, to remain true to ourselves."

"That's true enough," Owen said. "Life's hard, but we have to get through it somehow."

"How do you know you'll be able to resist its power, once you have it?" Lara asked.

Unuratu stopped walking, "I don't. But if my training fails me, the Crimson Fire will guide me and hold me to my promise." She showed the tattoo on her left arm.

"...So you're willing to risk everything on this?" Owen asked. "Even if there's a chance that you might lose your life?"

"...It's all I can do," Unuratu replied. "To ensure my people's future...my son's future."

"Then you should try and keep living for Etzli's sake," said Owen.

Lara held her heart, thinking about her daughter.

"Etzli's gonna need you in order to guide him," said Owen. "Don't you think so, too?"

Unuratu smiled at Owen, who smiled and nodded back.

"We should...***ahem*** we should go," Lara said.

"Right," Owen agreed. "Let's get outta here."

Soon, they began to make their way through the tomb.

"So, what exactly is the Crimson Fire?" asked Lara.

"It is my destiny," answered Unuratu. "It is connected to the sacrifice of Kukulcan. 'When the Crimson Fire smokes, seek your mirror'. It's a powerful force of accountability. That's all I know."

"Do any of those...creatures...ever find their way in here?" Lara asked.

"Creatures?" Unuratu asked, curiously.

"They...look human, but attack like animals," Owen elaborated. "In the caverns around Paititi, they were in conflict with Trinity. And they came after us at the Altar where the Box was taken."

"Do you mean the Yaaxil?" Unuratu asked.

"Yaaxil?" Lara repeated. "They were...tall and fast...and hungry. Almost desperate."

"...I would not call them 'creatures'," said Unuratu. "They are more than that."

Soon, they approached a door.

"The key I gave you should work here," she said.

Lara nodded before she placed the key into the slot in the center of the door, which rumbled as it began to open. She, Owen, and Unuratu pushed it just enough so that there was enough room to slip through. Once they were inside, the door closed and they continued walking through the crypt.

"What happened to the Yaxil?" asked Lara.

"There are many legends," Unuratu said. "It was long ago. But Paititi owes much of its safety to them."

"They protect it?" Owen asked skeptically.

"I don't know if that's their intention, but their actions have that effect," Unuratu said.

"And they never attack the city?" Lara asked.

"No..." Unuratu told them. "We have always lived in...cooperation."

They went up several flights of stairs till they were back outside.

Once they were outside, they saw a lot of people gathering and they could hear the sound of drums beating.

"I think Amaru is planning a public sacrifice," said Unuratu.

"Of a rebel?" asked Owen. "In that case, we have to stop it."

"No," Unuratu argued. "Not unprepared, and not at the expense of the Box. The warrior who will bear the sacrifice would prefer death."

They were about to enter into a large crowd of spectators when Unuratu whispered to them,  
"Stay near me, and do as I do. The crowd could turn on us."

Lara and Owen nodded before they followed Unuratu into the crowd, keeping their heads bowed as Amaru appeared before the spectators.

"Rebels walk among us, who would threaten our safety, preservation. Their leader, the traitor Unuratu, you fallen Queen, is in my custody! But it is not too late to save her."

Some guards brought a man over and placed him on the pedestal.

"Today we offer a sacrifice to Kukulkan- as a prayer for protection as the eclipse draws near," Amaru continued.

"Come, see what he does," Unuratu whispered.

As reluctant as they were to watch such a thing, Lara and Owen followed Unuratu, getting closer to the altar.

"With this sacrifice," Amaru preached, "This rebel's life will be redeemed. May all his fellows see the light and rejoin us!"

On that, he raised a dagger and plunged the blade into the man's chest while the guards held him down...and then, after a few moments, the man went limp.

"Ugh...I hate this kind of shit..." Owen muttered in disgust.

"Amaru said he wanted an END to violence," Lara remembered his words.

"He sees it as a means to an end," Unuratu said.

"Fucking hypocrite," Owen muttered.

Soon, they went through the crowd, but Lara stopped as she saw a pile of dead bodies and the bloodstained stairs.

"With this rebel's sacrifice," Amaru proclaimed, "He becomes one of us again!"

Soon, the guards tossed the man down the steps, his blood smearing on the stones before he landed on the pile, and the crowd cheered, once again. Even the children were cheering.

"All these people actually believe him?" asked Lara.

"They are afraid," Unuratu answered, "And with good reason." She then gestured to a door where two guards stood. "Not much farther. The tomb is just beyond that door."

They squeezed through the crowd as they cheered when another warrior was executed.

"Halt," One of the guards at the door said.

"Innocent eyes will blink at dawn, when weakness falls away," Lara recited the password.

"You may pass," The two guards opened the double stone doors for them.

Once inside, Unuratu led Lara and Owen around the corner and pointed to a huge statue.

"The tomb is up there," she said, "On top of that statue. You two go. I'll watch the gate."

"Be careful, Unuratu," Owen replied. "Don't do anything too hasty. Remember, Etzli needs you."

"...I know," Unuratu replied.

"Jonah, we're close to the Emperor's Tomb," Lara said to her radio.

"We're by the river, ready to get you and Unuratu out of there," Jonah responded. "Let us know when you're ready."

Lara and Owen quickly found a climbing route up the statue till they got to its right hand.

"Well, we made it up," Owen said. "Now we have to get in."

"I think I might see a way," said Lara before she used her grapple ax to swing to the other hand.

However, part of it crumbled, but thankfully, she managed to keep her grip before she climbed onto the palm, then looked up and saw an entrance. "Owen! Over here!"

She jumped and grappled over to the entrance as he swung over to where she had previously stood.

Lara climbed up to the entrance and walked inside, and Owen came in a few seconds later. They were in a chamber with some stone carvings on the walls and three mummified husks.

They went up two parts of stairs till they found some kind of golden face in the wall between two gold statues.

"The Inca influence is unmistakable," Lara said.

Suddenly, they heard Jonah's voice on the radio,  
"**Lara? Owen? Where are you?**"

"We're inside the Emperor's Tomb," answered Owen. "We almost have what we need."

"**We'll be ready,**" answered Sam. "**Be careful you guys.**"

They went into the next chamber, where there were some golden llama statues with some old pots laid around them. On the other wall was a stone carving with a heron.

"The last Emperor's tomb," Owen said. "The Cult must have taken route after his death."

"Okay, the Eclipse and the Heron..." Lara looked the carving over, but didn't see anything significant. "What are we missing?"

Then they noticed a big stone cup with some carvings, and a stone snake head on the top of it.

"Wait- did Lopez leave this?" Owen wondered. "The Heart of the Serpent is in the Cup."

"The Heart of the Serpent is in the..." Lara repeated, racking her brain for an answer when they heard a man cry out in pain outside.

Owen went outside to investigate, only to gasp.

"Shit!" he cursed.

"What's wrong?!" asked Lara as she went over to him.

"Unuratu's cover's been blown!" Owen shouted as he pointed down below and saw Unuratu, shooting down soldiers with her arrows, but more kept coming!

Luckily, she quickly shot them.

"Over here!" One guard came running behind Lara and Owen with a spear, but Unuratu shot him in the chest with an arrow.

Lara and Owen looked down at the spring in front of the statue; it looked deep enough to jump into, so they did. They resurfaced and climbed out, seeing Unuratu knock a guard off his feet with her bow and stab him with an arrow.

But then, someone shot her in the stomach!

"NO!" Lara screamed.

The culprit was Rourke, who pulled out his radio, "This is Commander Rourke. We've got a lead on the Box. Send a team for Croft and Taylor."

Just as he started to walk away, Owen drew his pistol and shot at him, but he got away.

"FUCK!" Owen yelled.

Lara went over to Unuratu and placed her hands over her wound,  
"Unuratu, please hang on!"

Unuratu took Lara's right hand and placed a pendant in it as she gasped for breath,  
"Give this to Etzli. He's the rightful heir, he must lead Paititi. He's young, but strong. His spirit, as noble as his blood."

"Don't go, keep talking to me," Lara begged, sobbing a bit.

"The Box- it will tempt you," she told her. "Resist. We all create our destiny."

She gasped a couple more times before passing away.

Lara shed some tears, "I won't let you down."

She heard some guards coming and got prepared to hide, but Owen threw a grenade at the tunnel entrance they were coming from. It released purple smoke that the guards immediately started coughing on, before choking, coughing up blood and dying slowly.

"Poison?" Lara asked.

"Yeah," Owen simply responded. He came over to Unuratu, closed her eyes and picked her up. "I know it will be painful, but Etzli deserves to see her."

"...Let's go..." Lara whispered as she and Owen headed back to Paititi.

After a long journey, they managed to make it back.

"Jonah, Sam, Tommy, where are you guys?" asked Lara on her radio.

"**We're down by the docks,**" said Jonah.

"We can see you," Owen said as he saw the trio waving to them from the docks, as well as Tsume sitting nearby. As they approached, however, Sam gasped in horror upon seeing Unuratu's dead body.

"...Oh, no..." she whispered.

"What...what happened?" asked Jonah.

"She died...trying to fight Trinity," answered Lara, sadly.

"...Shit...!" Tommy cursed as he turned away, clenching his fists. Tsume walked up to them and nudged Unuratu's hand, as if trying to wake her up...to no avail.

"...Where's Etzli?" asked Owen.

Tsume looked up the steps and whined, laying down.

Etzli came down the steps with Uchu and another warrior.

"Mother...?" The boy ran over.

"...We're so sorry, Etzli," said Lara, sadly. "Your mother...she fought hard."

Etzli stared at Unuratu's dead body while Owen gently laid her down on the ground.

Uchu placed his hand on Etzli's shoulder, who had yet to break down.

He was keeping it together, but truthfully, he was barely holding it together. He allowed himself to cry, making Lara pull him in for a hug.

"Shh..." she shushed. "It's all right, Etzli...I know it hurts, but it'll be okay."

"...She's...she's really gone...!" Etzli whispered.

"I lost both my parents when I was much younger than you," Lara said. "So I know how you feel."

She then gave him the amulet Unuratu had handed to her.

"But...this is...the leader's amulet..." Etzli said between sobs.

"It's yours now," Owen said.

Etzli clutched it, knelt down to his mother and kissed her forehead,  
"She was...a warrior. There will be time to grieve, but not now. The eclipse draws near, if we cannot restore the sun-"

"We'll find the Box," Lara assured him. "We won't let the Cult of Kukulkan get to it first."

Etzli nodded, then turned to Uchu and the other warrior, who had knelt down, "Begin preparations for the burial chamber; Queen Unuratu will live on within us. Uchu, assist them with the boat." Uchu nodded and stood up. "We will prepare for battle, the rebellion must succeed."

"We'll be back, with the Box," Owen said.

"We won't let you guys down," Sam added.

"Well, let's get going," Tommy answered. "I have a feeling that we're almost at the end of...whatever this is."

"We should change first," Owen suggested.

"Right," Lara agreed, almost forgetting about what they were currently wearing.

Sam, Jonah and Tommy turned away to give them some privacy. After a couple minutes, Lara and Owen were back in there original outfits, then boarded their boats.

"So what's next?" Jonah asked.

"We'll head back to Kuwaq Yaku, regroup, and take it from there," Lara responded.

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**Read and review, please!**


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